



THE JAPAN MISSION 

OF THE AMERICAN CHURCH 




Book #^AJ5 

Copyright^ 10 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



THE JAPAN MISSION OF 
THE AMERICAN CHURCH 



SOLDIER AND SERVANT SERIES, DECEMBER, 1907 
PUBLICATION No. 39 



THE JAPAN MISSION 

OF THE 

AMERICAN CHURCH 



CHURCH WORK IN THE DIOCESES 
OF TOKYO AND KYOTO::::: 



ROBERT W. ANDREWS 

MISSIONARY PRIEST 



Land of the Breaking Day, we pray for thee 
That in thy border God's sweet peace may rest, 
That all thy children in J lis school may be 
Swift learners of the wisdom that is bed. 
So in the Eastern sphere the Lord may raise 
A Christian Kingdom to His endless praise 



CHURCH MISSIONS PUBLISHING COMPANY 

AUXILIARY TO THE BOARD OF MISSIONS 

211 STATE STREET, HARTFORD, CONN. 
1% V\ 



.A* 



r 






LIBRARY ot CONGRESS 
1 wo OODies Received 

JUN 22 1908 

v/oi*/^i«"i entry 
CLASS A XXc. H 

COPY B.' 



Copyright 1908, by 
Church Missions Publishing Co. 



{<*> 



Illustrations 




Author and People 


Frontispiece 




Page 


Doll's Festival .... 


17" 


Bishop McKim 


. . 41" 


St. Luke's Hospital 


. . 56" 


St. Agnes' Girls at Archery 


. . 64^ 


S. J. Kitazawa .... 


80"' 


Miss Bristowe 


97"" 


Bishop Partridge 


. . 114' 


St. Agnes' Girls at Play 


• • Ifc" 


St. Mary's Mission 


128 


Widely Loving Orphanage 


. . 136" 


Mission Women in Training School 


152" 


Map of Japan 


opp. Index 



Contents 

CHAP. PAGE 

I Introductory ..... 1 

11 Glimpses of Japan .... 7 

III Religion of Japan .... 22 

IV Christianity in Japan ... 30 
V Tokyo District— Tokyo City . . 41 

VI Tokyo District— Tokyo City Parishes . 71 

VII Tokyo District — Country Stations . 71 

VIII Kyoto Diocese — Kyoto . . 114 

IX Kyoto Diocese — Osaka . . . 127 

X Kyoto Diocese — Country Stations . 139 

XI The Outlook 153 

Appendix . . . . .157 

Index 161 



Commendation 

For many years there has been a widely expressed 
desire for some reliable history of the work of the 
Japan Mission of the American Church. Leaflets, 
monographs, and annual reports, written by the Bish- 
ops and missionaries, and by friends who have shown 
their kindly interest by visiting Japan, have given 
information of more or less value, but they have been 
fragmentary in character, and at their best give but 
an imperfect outline of what has been done. 

At the request of many friends the Rev. R. W. An- 
drews has undertaken the task of supplying a felt 
want. He has given his summer vacation and his 
leisure hours to the collection of data and facts from 
all reliable sources. He has visited nearly every sta- 
tion in the Missionary Districts of Tokyo and Kyoto 
and has sought information from all the missionaries 
as well as from the Japanese Clergy and Catechists. 
The Bishops have been pumped dry of all their know- 
ledge of the history of both Districts. 

The result of his labors is shown in this book. Noth- 
ing heretofore published has given so full and accurate 
a statement of the work the Japan Mission is doing 
for the extension of the Kingdom of God among the 
people of Dai Nippon. 

A careful reading of this book must surely result in 
a more intelligent and earnest desire to aid us in ac- 
complishing the work to which the Church has called 
and sent us. 

John McKim, 

Bishop of Tokyo. 

T5kyo, Easter-Tide, 1907. 



Testimonial 

I have read with great interest and pleasure this 
book of the Rev. Mr. Andrews on our Church Mission 
work in Japan, and congratulate the Author and the 
publishers on the very hearty and satisfactory way in 
which a somewhat difficult task has been accomplished. 

I am glad to have it go forth with my love and 
blessing, and pray that it may accomplish much good 
for the great Cause which we all have at heart. 

Sidney C. Partridge, 

Bishop of Kyoto. 

Feast of St. Luke, 1907. 



Preface 

This little book is offered to the American Church 
with no idea that it presents a complete statement of 
what is being done by the Church in Japan, but with 
the hope that something of the actual endeavor which 
is going on for the conversion of this people may be 
more fully understood. 

There are some phases of the work not treated of in 
these pages, not because unfamiliar to me, but because 
discussion of them seemed unnecessary here. 

Fully alive also to my own unfitness for such a task, 
or to pass judgment upon any single individual feature 
of missionary labor, I would not have undertaken it 
had I not been encouraged and assisted by the Bishops 
of the two missionary Districts. 

Notwithstanding the amount of literature published 
annually on Japan, I feel that my chapter on "Glimpses 
of Japan" has a proper place, for I have treated my 
subject differently from my predecessors. The chap- 
ters on "Christianity" and "Buddhism and Shinto" 
seemed to me also to be fitting in this work. In the 
first place, because it ought to be known what the be- 
ginnings of Christianity were; and in the second, be- 
cause the religions indigenous, whether successes or 
failures, have a bearing on the work of the Church 
which is of importance. 

If this book is not so full as many will expect, I can 
only plead lack of time for proper investigation. I 
have put my holiday into it, and whatever time a 
missionary can have for play. I must ask therefore 
for consideration at the hands of those who would 
criticize. 



XU PREFACE 

I am greatly indebted to the Bishops for encourage- 
ment and much information; to Bishop Partridge for 
his great courtesy while I was visiting his Diocese ; to 
Bishop McKim for assistance in steering me away from 
dangers unforeseen; and, much more than could be 
acknowledged here, to nearly all the Clergy in both 
Dioceses; to the Rev. K. Sataki of the Zen sect for in- 
formation on my chapter on Buddhism, and others. 

R. W. Andrews, 

Priest. 

Akita. 



CHAPTER I 
Introductory 

The American Church at Work — Services — The Immense Field 
— Ritual — Need of Workers. 

The time is fast approaching when a new order of 
things may be looked for in Japan. It was feared a 
few years ago that this nation, with its tendency to 
Japonicize all things foreign and convert them into 
national institutions of popular form, would make such 
an attempt upon Christianity ; nor was the alarm with- 
out some foundation in fact. The younger element of 
the more liberal and advanced type, from a dearth of 
moral and religious training, from an overwhelming 
dose of German philosophy, and encouraged by their 
teachers, dreamt of a composite religion combining 
what they liked best in Christianity, Buddhism, Shinto, 
and Confucianism. Happily the danger was averted 
a work in which the Sei Ko Kwai (Holy Catholic 
Church) played an important part, and the place She 
has gained and now holds in the hearts and minds of 
the people allows us to assume that She may at some 
time occupy that unique position Herself. 

Old in history, wise in government, liberal in ritual, 
with a name calling up at once national loyalty and 
pride, and holding Herself faithful to that "once for 
all delivered to the saints," the Catholic Church in 
Japan has a remarkable future before Her, and it be- 
hooves all loyal Churchmen everywhere to lend a help- 
ing hand. 

In a few years at most this Church will elect a Bishop 



Services 



2 THE JAPAN MISSION 

from among Her own sons to carry on part of Her 
ministry and the conversion of Her people. The So 
Kwai (General Synod) of 1902 passed a canon pro- 
viding for the election and consecration of a native 
Bishop, and a committee was appointed to collect 
funds for the erection and endowment of a bishopric. 
This fund, now rapidly increasing, may, it is said, be 
completed at any time the Church in council feels dis- 
posed to elect a Bishop. The difficulty of deciding 
the nature and bounds of this first Diocese troubles 
many ; among the more radical some are for electing a 
Missionary Bishop whose jurisdiction should include 
the self-supporting parishes of the whole Church; but 
this is unpopular. It ought also to be said that the 
majority of the clergy, though feeling that a native 
Bishop is the desired object, feel also that a great mis- 
take would be made and damage result to the Church 
should an impetuous judgment be allowed to prevail; 
hence the desire to wait until the Church is properly 
prepared. But circumstances now fast shaping them- 
selves make it evident that the day is near. There is 
no doubt in my mind but that the Faith only is the 
serious question; the people are amply able to govern 
themselves. 

I mention in another place the criticisms to which 
the Church, as represented by Her officers, is subjected 
by thoughtless people. Thousands visit these shores 
from America alone, and not a few of them are Church 
people ; but one is surprised and astonished at the small 
number who make it their business to study the mis- 
sion at first hand. There are in Japan, as everywhere 
else, people who are opposed to good in any form, and 
who chafe under the moral and religious restraints 
which the Church places upon their conduct and man- 
ners. Hence they endeavour to belittle Her work. 

It has ever been so in the world's history: time will 
not change the law. But one is pained to find among 
some of the most estimable people those who listen to 
and repeat vilifying remarks about a work and staff of 



INTRODUCTORY 3 

men, into which and whom they have not been suffi- 
ciently interested to examine. In the Cathedral, 
Tokyo, the Sunday services are as follows : 

Japanese: Holy Communion, 6 :30 ; Matins, etc., 9:00; 
Evensong, 7:30 p. m. 

English : Holy Communion, 8 :00 Matins, etc., 1 1 :00 ; 
Evensong, 5:00 p. m. 

Visitors have attended English services as posted in The 
hotels, and, finding no Japanese present, without the immense 
least inquiry have reported that no Japanese services Field 
were being held. It is difficult even to think kindly of 
such slanderers. Nor do people seem to consider how 
hard it is in a city of two millions of people, where 
churches are few and distances great, to see and know 
very much of what is being done. The country Clergy 
would be delighted to welcome such people and show 
them around their districts, where more could be seen 
in a week than by living a month in Tokyo. Why not 
compare Tokyo with New York or Chicago, and Kyoto 
with Milwaukee or Detroit? 

The District of Tokyo alone has a population equal 
to that of the states of New York, New Jersey, Penn- 
sylvania, and Delaware ; the money to administer it is 
about half that spent by one of their large city churches, 
and the Clergy number one-third those used by their 
smallest diocese; yet the returns from either Tokyo or 
Kyoto, although the work is amid conditions unknown 
in America, show a percentage of increase which may 
well put to shame the foremost Diocese at home. 

In Tokyo District thirteen churches have been built 
and consecrated, free of debt, during the episcopate of 
the present Diocesan. Communion vessels have been 
provided, altars given, and very often linen for the 
altars. Kyoto district has had the same conditions to 
face and others much more grievous ; but, in the supply 
of all this, not one cent has been donated by the Board of 
Missions in New York. How little after all is known by 
people at home of the weighty demands and responsibility 
resting on the hands of a foreign Missionary Bishop. 



THE JAPAN MISSION 



Ritual 



Need of 
Workers 



With the advance in doctrine and worship has come 
also an advance in ritual. Time was when some, led 
by certain of the foreign clergy, deprecated the slight- 
est act or form in the Church's service; a colored stole, 
a cross on the altar, was a "rag of popery" and taboo. 
To-day one finds brass crosses, eucharistic vestments, 
candles on the altar, and people aided by outward 
signs to appreciate the inward significance and beauty 
of true worship. People wondered, and rightly so, 
why, if Christianity were what it claims to be, its 
outward form should be so poor and barren. To an 
esthetic people like the Japanese some ritual was es- 
sential, almost a necessity. Buddhism was resplen- 
dent with ornate ritual, the bonze were attired in 
gorgeous apparel to appear before the Kami; was the 
Great God of all regardless of such, and was the Great 
Sacrifice of the death and passion of His Son to be 
offered between barren walls, and on crosslegged 
tables? The struggle is not yet over, the desire for 
better things is still growing. One of the great Eng- 
lish societies feels there ought to be "open communions, 
free exchange of pulpits, union prayer meetings ;" and 
much that is being done at home tends towards en- 
couraging and fostering this idea; but the American 
Church Mission in Japan at least stands for better 
things ; the natives are asking for better teaching, and 
the laity are demanding it. 

The institutions of the Church are in excellent and 
flourishing condition and doing this work amid diffi- 
culties ; they do credit to themselves and the men who 
are at the head. Long ago they for the most part 
passed out of the hands of the foreigner, and it is no dis- 
grace to the Japanese to say they have not yet acquired 
the ability of the foreigner in the matter of successful 
Christian education; there is a tendency at times to 
let down under strong pressure, when Christianity and 
a full school roll are in opposition. 

There is no question about the great need of more 
men and women in the field; new blood is sadly needed. 



INTRODUCTORY 5 

Each year the growth calls for more help to keep pace 
with the spiritual necessities. So many Christians are 
scattered over the more distant and remote parts, that 
a small staff of men occupying somewhat the position 
of archdeacons is needed, whose duty it would be to 
keep in touch with such souls and assist in ministering 
to them. 

What is true of one District is true of both, though 
Kyoto is more compact and easier to work than Tokyo, 
and the leadership of such a man as Bishop Partridge 
cannot but tell in due time. The district is inade- 
quately manned, however, and recruits are sadly 
needed. 

In Tokyo District fourteen men and twenty-nine 
women are needed at once (1907). In Kyoto (on my 
own authority and observation) ten men and as many 
women in view of recent events are needed to save the 
mission. And in each case they ought to be young, 
fresh from college, and the best the country has to give, 
with a superabundance of enthusiasm not easily dis- 
couraged or dampened. 

The Bishop of Tokyo prefers unmarried men for the 
first three years. He feels they are less expensive 
during linguistic study and acclimation periods, and 
can be more easily "moved about from place to place." 
The Bishop of Kyoto will accept either single or married 
men, within the age limit, other qualifications being 
equal. 

With the numbers of men and women named, a new 
era of progress may be looked for, but at present it is 
impossible to do more than hold our present field; 
each man to-day has almost double work. It is a case 
now of "bricks without straw." 

The change made in the Divinity School in 1906 
converts it from an ordinary private Christian school 
into one of high standard with government recogni- 
tion. The men who are graduated from there in the 
future will be much better trained and equipped to 
cope with the advanced questions and problems of the 



6 THE JAPAN MISSION 

times than ever before. But I am of the opinion that 
it also lessens foreign control. There is no doubt that 
one school is sufficient for the whole Church in Japan ; 
but that can never be until the day arrives when party 
lines are abolished. The American Bishops have 
advocated such a movement and would heartily wel- 
come it, but the event is far in the future. The C. M. 
S. refuses to become partner in any institution not 
completely controlled by officers of that society. 

The increase of the Church is quite equal to that of 
any other Christian body in the country. Years ago 
when the present Bishop of Tokyo was still a Priest in 
Osaka it was said to him by a denominational minister: 
"You might have stayed home with your Church and 
Prayer Book; the Japanese have no use for either, nor 
for the doctrine they inculcate." More than ten years 
later the same man thought the Church "in line to 
capture the country. " 



CHAPTER II 

Glimpses of Japan 

Differences from the Western World — Treatment of Travellers 
— National Education — Social Life and Family Morals — 
Marriage — Punishment of Malefactors — Amusements and 
Holidays. 

There are few countries in the world around which so 
much romance is woven or so many pleasant stories 
rehearsed as this little island empire, the land of the 
Mikado, the chrysanthemum, the land of cherry blos- 
soms and plum blossoms, the "Land of the Rising 
Sun." The traveller, stained and weary from visiting 
many lands, English homes and Italian Cathedrals, 
Indian Mosques and Chinese joss houses, finds here a 
simplicity of artistic effect in man's handiwork, but a 
grandeur of design in nature altogether unique and un- 
surpassed wherever the foot of man has trod. 

The pent-up energy of centuries kept dormant or 
waiting for the fulness of time to reveal and exert itself 
seems to sweep down the busy streets in regular twen- 
tieth century fashion and one is apt to look in wonder 
on scenes recalling history long past or look in amaze- 
ment on medieval implements worked by twentieth 
century brains. Venerable Age, bounding Youth, and 
hopeful Promise meet and vie with each other in their 
desire to add their quota to the advancement of their 
country's good. 

Why are the Japanese so different from all other 
Oriental races? is a question asked time and time again, 
only to receive a negative reply. So much has hap- 



8 



THE JAPAN MISSION 



Differences 
from the 
Western 
World 



pened in a lifetime, a decade, a few years, as to be a 
source of the greatest wonder and amazement. 

"You are going to step back over a thousand years/' 
said a Bishop to me on my leaving home for Japan; 
and that first year in a southern city seemed to prove 
the truth of the statement; but I confess that after 
nine years of residence I find myself strangely dis- 
senting from the remark of that great man, who in a 
look gauged "people from their shoe-strings up," but 
could naturally have little conception or understand- 
ing of a people among whom he had never been, and 
with whose history he was unfamiliar. 

One lives a life of surprises and quandary amid 
doubts as to what will happen next. The guest of a 
month or two sees a few phases of character and draws 
hasty conclusions; hence except on rare occasions the 
accounts are misleading and untrue. The whole na- 
ture of the people seems to work in a different groove 
from that of the Occidental, and this is probably part 
of the reason why they are so incomprehensible. 

To pull a saw or plane where we should push it, to 
begin a letter at the right when we should expect the 
left, to turn a key in the wrong direction, are signs to 
the uninitiated of even an anatomy which, to coincide 
with the workings of the mind, must also have a pe- 
culiar make-up of its own. Years of residence among 
this wonderful people, however, soon dispel such absurd 
notions. 

"You can never understand us until you understand 
our language." a native Priest who was educated in one 
of our American schools said to me. This formula 
applied to perhaps any other country would solve the 
difficulty, but here the formula itself is one of the 
mysteries past finding out. I have never yet found a 
single Japanese who even pretended to understand his 
own language, or one who knew half the characters 
composing it. To study the average Conversation Guide 
as a means of acquiring a working knowledge of Jap- 
anese, as one would of English, French, or German, 



GLIMPSES OF JAPAN 9 

would be absurd; for no one would comprehend the 
meaning of the speaker. Even a whole dictionary of 
words, unless one could think in Japanese, i. e., to 
think up and down and in and out, obliquely and 
transversely and every other way, would be useless, 
and its study but a waste of time. Yet there is no 
doubt about the ability of the native to use his own 
language, though at times his vocabulary is terribly 
small. To witness an old fashioned fight so often seen 
in the country villages, the horrible grimaces in the 
"making faces" stage, to understand how much is 
conveyed in a word, a glance, a look, — and remember 
this language possesses no "cuss words" — the effect 
upon one is remarkable. 

One hears and reads much of the kindness of the 
Japanese towards each other, especially among rel- 
atives. The outlay in time and money, the years of 
toil on the part of a son for a father not yet old, but 
who has become inkyo* the gracious smile always 
ready, the helping hand ever extended, — all of this is 
true (though the Japanese like other people have 
their likes and dislikes, why should they not?). But 
to say or suppose that life in this country, in house or 
home, is one of perpetual sunshine and charm is not 
only misleading, but tends to ascribe to the Japanese 
a weakness of character which they do not possess. 

The statement is often made that Japan and Para- 
dise are synonymous terms when applied to children; 
that they are never punished, hence never cry; that 
cruelty is unknown and ii KoKo ,,, \ abnormal. This 
last is true, but how to account for it in the average 
person is a question for the psychologist. But it is 
also true that, at least from the Western viewpoint, 
cruelty is deeper in the hearts of this people than is 
usual; children are allowed to wound and hurt birds 
and insects with impunity ; children not more than six 
and seven years of age are hired out by their parents 

♦Inkyo. To retire from business. To retire and make the son respon- 
sible for family, etc. This is a very common thing. 
fK6K5. Filial piety. 



10 



THE JAPAN MISSION 



Treatment 

of 

Travellers 



as nurses for as little as fifty sen per month, and in 
most of such cases both nurse and infant are proper 
subjects for pity. When evening comes and the 
nurses turn towards home for rest and refreshment, 
one who thinks Japanese children do not cry should be 
in the neighborhood and listen. 

Time, that great mover of all, is making marvelous 
changes in this land, changes directly affecting the 
social and moral uplifting of the people. Almost 
every little town and village has its own school, post- 
office, and police station, and a more polite, efficient, 
obliging body of people can nowhere be found. 

Few countries are more careful for the safety and 
comfort of their guests than this. Foreigners are 
often a curiosity, and in country towns where they are 
seldom seen, may be followed by a crowd which sug- 
gests their various ages, according to their appearance. 
Or it may be remarked how much they resemble the 
ancestor who still enjoys the luxury of a caudal append- 
age ; but those only are molested who feel they own the 
whole earth and that every thing in it must swing at 
the end of their pendulum. 

In almost any town of 10,000 people one can send 
telegrams anywhere in either Japanese or English. 
This is more than one can do in either America or 
England. 

The most noticeable feature in the whole Empire to- 
day is the advance of education. Among the older 
people, except the upper-middle and best classes, 
there seems to have been little or no attention paid to 
education; almost no one does more than read the 
"Kana"* without understanding more than the sounds 
produced. This is specially true of women. The 
present generation is witnessing a marvelous growth; 
they are growing up with what might be called good 
common school education, and a large percentage 
might be classed as college men. 

In all education, English plays an important part. 

♦Kana. Phonetic characters. 



GLIMPSES OF JAPAN 11 

An old Shogun remarked that it was sufficient to make Nat i ona i 
other people study Japanese. People realize to-day Educat j on 
the inadequacy of such a course. No student is 
graduated from any Chii-Gakko* without a fair trans- 
latable knowledge of our tongue; and the examina- 
tion required by the Mombu-Sho-f from those qualify- 
ing for English teachers would perplex many of our 
University men. The desire for English during the 
last few years by almost all classes amounts to little 
less than a mania. Every one wants to study. One 
is stopped at the stations, in the hotels, the police- 
boxes, and dry goods stores to render a little help over 
some difficult spot, or long enough for some forward 
student to air his studied sentence for the benefit of 
his friends. At times the effect is ludicrous and amus- 
ing in the extreme ; but it goes to show the aggressive 
spirit of the Japanese, the desire to raise himself above 
ms surroundings, to make something of himself — sure- 
ly commendable enough, — and it is this quality which 
lifted his country from the position of a hermit King- 
dom into the comity of nations ; which whipped China 
and Russia into ribbons and placed her among the fore- 
most in human civilization and advancement towards 
the very best the world has to give. 

The Portsmouth Conference demonstrated to the 
world that in peace no less than in war Japan can meet 
the best the Western world has to send and beat them. 
She is a power to be reckoned with, and those who for- 
get or disregard that will do so at national sacrifice. 

Every thing is being done for the advancement of 
her sons. There are fine gymnasiums, well equipped 
laboratories, modern libraries, teachers educated in the 
finest schools of America and Europe, progressive men 
in the best sense of the word, who are devoting their 
lives to the work. In many cases these men are putting 
not only their salaries, but much of their own private 
means into their country's service. They are real 
philanthropists, building up institutions of learning for 

*Chu-Gakko. Middle School. tMoMBU-SHo. Educational Department. 



12 



THE JAPAN MISSION 



Social 
Life and 
Family 
Morals 



the future ; teaching the farmer, the merchant, and the 
mechanic how to improve himself and his methods; 
and fitting him to meet the demands which necessity- 
has made only too apparent. 

Progress however has its own limitations. It has 
increased the economic values, and made living more 
precarious. During the last five or six years a marked 
change is noted. Clothing, food-stuffs, and other 
commodities have advanced one-third. The late war 
increased the taxes greatly, the present tillable land in 
the whole Empire is less than Illinois and Iowa com- 
bined, and this, in a country already over-burdened 
with population, becomes a serious problem. What 
Japan will do with her surplus population is a question 
to tax the brains of the greatest. It was a question 
involved in the late war with Russia, whether she 
should allow herself to be shut out from the advantages 
Corea offered in this respect, and the more definite 
advantages accruing through union with a people of 
the same race and affinity, or whether she should fight 
for national life and national existence, a right in- 
alienable, old as the everlasting hills. And right won, 
as it ever will win, and the victory settled for some 
years at least the question of a home for the people who 
could no longer find sustenance on their native heath. 

The social and moral advance is also to be noted in 
the life of the people, and can only be fully appreciated 
by those who have spent the greater part of their lives 
in the country. One may travel in the wake of the 
average globe-trotter forever, and see and know very 
little of Japanese life; but off the beaten tracks is the 
real national life. Many things occur to shock one at 
first; customs prevail old as the hills and performed 
with the naivity and simplicity of children. In a 
certain town, a public bath-house where promiscuous 
bathing was allowed was old as history could make it. 
The city authorities, however, had decided against its 
continuance, and an ordinance to that effect was issued 
which created consternation in bath-house circles. 



GLIMPSES OF JAPAN 13 

The difficulty was thought to be overcome, however, 
when a bamboo pole was put across the top of the tub, 
thus separating the sexes. The police, however, re- 
quired a stricter interpretation of the law, and the 
sexes were restricted to separate rooms. This is but 
an example of what is experienced yearly, the advance 
over customs harmless enough in primitive times but 
no longer to be tolerated by a Government seeking for 
the very best the world has to offer; and it is because 
of this that Japan is becoming a pattern and a model 
for her Eastern neighbors. 

As hosts the Japanese are unsurpassed, leaving 
nothing undone for the welfare of the guest, but they 
seldom make or seem to care to create a real friendship 
with the foreigner. Yet no country owes more for its 
present position to the foreigner than Japan, and no 
country anywhere offers less in return. 

Another great sign of advance is the number of 
facilities offered for the education of women, which as 
time goes on promises to rival America. This is all 
the more noticeable when one considers the position 
women so lately filled in the social scale. Women have 
been always abundantly able to hold their own at all 
times and in all ages, and it would be folly to suppose 
or assert in the light of Japanese history that they have 
not made their influence felt politically as well as other- 
wise in this as in all other countries. But I speak of 
the lower and middle classes. 

Laws for the protection of women have been few 
and not the best. A childless wife might be divorced, 
or should the husband desire less stringent measures 
he was allowed a concubine or two or as many as were 
necessary till an heir was born to him. A daughter 
could not inherit though she could adopt a husband to 
take the name and hence save the family from extinc- 
tion. But barrenness was not the only reason other 
than unfaithfulness for divorce, and reasons are still 
found; but the old reasons for divorce are fast dis- 
appearing. 



14 THE JAPAN MISSION 

It is certain also that concubinage is not so popular 
among the people ; a woman is more chary of trusting 
her future welfare to the keeping of a man who for al- 
most any reason may at will thrust her and her children 
into the street without any visible signs of support, or 
redress of any kind. The system is tolerated though 
not condoned, and perhaps the greatest blow is that 
the Crown Prince is not in sympathy with it. 

Besides all this in the education of women is the 
training for some definite and specific purpose in life 
other than to adorn the home and bear children. In 
Tokyo during the last few years colleges for the higher 
education of women have been opened. 

This excellent example is being followed by indus- 
trial schools all over the country, a work in which the 
Church has played Her part. When the day arrives, 
and it is coming rapidly, that the Japanese girl can 
earn her living other than as a "boy", a "cook," or 
a "farm-hand," a riper age will have begun, fewer 
divorces will be experienced and hence fewer suicides 
to tell the pitiful tale of broken lives where happiness 
and love should have reigned supreme. 

Besides all this, the home life will be elevated and 
enhanced by a more intellectual growth among women. 
At present the majority of men, perhaps because the 
stimulus to remain at home is small, go for amusement 
to Geisha* houses. The world knows no more fascinat- 
ing butterfly thing than this little woman who from 
earliest years has been trained to dance and amuse. 
Every art known to woman to beguile, to bewitch, 
cajole, and ensnare is at her fingers' ends. The very 
personification of grace and ease, every movement, every 
pose, every turn has its own peculiar charm. Men go 
there to be amused because their wives at home have 
never been taught that any such thing belonged to her 
wifely duty ; and they are amused. It is theatre, saloon, 
club, and dance hall combined, without the vicious- 

♦Geisha. Dancing girl. 



GLIMPSES OF JAPAN 15 

ness attendant upon such places in the Occident. 
Though it ought not to be supposed that all Geisha 
houses are just the places where fathers and mothers 
would be willing their sons should resort. Some are 
extremely vicious, but those are found oftener in the 
smaller towns. 

Here then is a reason of first-rate importance for 
the education of women to fit them intellectually so 
that they may be on an equality with their husbands, 
to make them companions in more than name, to fit 
them to bring up children under sober, healthy, clean, 
home influence, a credit to themselves and the pride of 
their country. 

One other thing which will have great bearing upon 
future homes is the part the girls are to play in the Marriage 
selection of their own mates. The present system 
makes no provision for the wishes of the bride, and 
indeed not so much for the wishes of the groom. 
Marriage is a convenience arranged and provided for 
by parents and friends who have other things in mind 
than the marital relations of man and woman. Often 
the couple have never met, and if ever consulted could 
do little more than to note the progress made in the 
contract. 

Girls are no longer satisfied with this arrangement, 
and girls have been known absolutely to refuse to 
marry the men selected for them. In one case where 
a sister had been divorced for no just cause, the younger 
one refused to marry any but a Christian, on the 
ground that they did not divorce their wives. Think- 
ing of America and England and the number of di- 
vorces annually for any and every cause, one may al- 
most expect to turn to Japanese women to teach us 
this great moral and religious lesson in our day. I 
look for the women to accomplish this great blessing 
here and confer lasting honor on themselves and their 
country. The men will not do it; not that Japan has 
not men great enough; she has, "but not many mighty 
are called", it seems, to do this work; those with power 



16 



THE JAPAN MISSION 



Punish- 
ment of 
Male- 
factors 



and ability prefer to keep their harem and sympathize 
with the people in the United States over the obstinacy 
of their countrymen. They are moral and religious 
drones, and fortunately Japan is outgrowing them. 

Obedience is one of the dominant traits of the Jap- 
anese character ; loyalty is ingrained into his very vitals. 
In the "hoken jidai,"* the retainer owed everything to 
his lord directly, and so strong was the bond between 
lord and retainer that on the death of the former some 
one invariably committed suicide or "oi-hara wo kiru," 
so that his master might not go unattended and alone 
into the great world of spirits beyond. 

The old form of death was strangulation but with the 
growth of militarism a new mode was developed, known 
as Seppuku or Hara-kiru,^ or literally, belly-cutting. 
It was performed by entering a sharp short dagger in 
the lower left side of the bowels, and drawing it quickly 
across to the right with an upward twist, completely 
severing the entrails. In the case of those who were 
ordered to commit hara-kiru for some offence, as soon 
as the death struggle began an official, but generally a 
friend, cut off the head. This mode of death became 
very popular, and not alone the Samurai, but among 
the lords or tonosama themselves, this was regarded as 
the most honorable way to die; and very often when 
all else failed to bring some intractable daimyo% to his 
senses he was ordered to commit hara-kiru. 

Among the women, however, this was not the custom. 
The favored method seems to have been the jigai or 
throat-cutting. Women often died in this way to be 
with their husbands, often to escape intrigue and 
wrong, often as a protest against what they them- 
selves could not fight, but in this they could perhaps 
wound the conscience of the offender. 

The merrymaking in Japan, as in most other coun- 

* Hoken Jidai. Feudal days. 

IHara, the belly; Kntu, to cut. Seppuku is Chinese and means the 
same thing. 

°Samurai. Retainers of Military class. 
JDaimyo. Greater lords. 




h-J 

> 

I— I 

H 
ft 

o 

c 



GLIMPSES OF JAPAN 17 

tries, has its own special seasons. Shogatsu or New . 
Year's day, Girls' festival on March 3d, Boys' festival "^use- 
May 5th, and House cleaning about April, all have a jr ii ( j avs 
special significance of their own. Shogatsu, literally 
First Month, is a special season of jollification for all. 
Every one plays "Hago-ita hana tsuki asobi," battle- 
dore and shuttle-cock. The pretty dresses of the girls, 
the interesting additions in the way of sundry daubs of 
powder and paint, the streets decorated with many 
colored lanterns, all join to lend a holiday appearance 
to the scene. The gentlemen on New Year's Day 
and two following days call or leave cards on their 
friends, and sometimes in the later hours of the day 
drop in to drink a little tea or smoke a friendly pipe. 

Years ago, when foreign dress was understood less 
and thought more of than at present, some amusing 
spectacles in the way of costume were witnessed. On 
one occasion a foreigner going to the door to receive 
his caller found him in Prince Albert coat, high hat 
which might have done justice to Pickwickian days, 
balbriggan drawers and high geta* while around his 
neck, taking the place of collar, shirt-front, etc., was 
a large bath-towel. Those were halcyon days, though 
it is well they have passed. In their place, however, 
has come that which is regarded as the very quintes- 
sence of propriety and reform ; and because regarded as 
such, is much more objectionable. 

"Ay ami no sekku" or Boy festival is observed dif- 
ferently in various places, but no family in which are 
male children will fail to recoginze it. A long bamboo 
pole with a basket on the top is erected, while from 
the pole are suspended as many paper "Koi ,,J \ as it can 
hold. The bamboo is a sign of longevity, the basket 
holds the luck, while the "Koi" floating against the 
breeze is a sure sign that the youth will overcome all 
obstacles to his progress in the future. The festival 
is Chinese in its origin, as are most of those in Japan, 
and is known in the "Makura no soshi" and the "Kagero 

*Geta. Footwear; wooden clogs. fKoi, Carp. 



18 THE JAPAN MISSION 

nikki," two books written about 1000 or 1100 A. D., 
as "Tango" or "Chogo." "Go" equals five, and "Cho" 
equals duplicated, referring to the five great festivals 
of the year, the other four of which are "Jiujitsu" 
1st of 1st month; "Jomi" 3d of 3d month; "Tan abota" 
7th of 7th month; and "Choyo," 9th of 9th month. As 
far as I know the story has not appeared in any trans- 
lation. I give a short summary. 

About 2000 years ago, during the reign of the Em- 
peror "So" in China, his prime minister Kutsugu fell 
into the river at Bekira on the 5th of the 5th month 
and was drowned. The people were deeply grieved 
over the accident, and especially in that the body could 
not be recovered so that the spirit of the dead man 
might have a place of rest. They attempted to sooth 
it by throwing rice into the water through long bamboo 
tubes on that day every year. The elder sister of 
Kutsugu also made a special cake to commemorate the 
death of her brother, which she named "Chimaki" a 
kind of rice cake wrapped in a certain leaf, which is 
still used. The "Matsuri" or festival, was modified 
and changed many times prior to the Tokugawa Sho- 
gunate, since which time it has remained practically the 
same. 

The "Hina Matsuri" or "Girls' festival" comes the 
3d of March, and apart from its religious significance 
no prettier sight, or one more likely to gladden the 
heart of a child, could well be imagined. The festival 
is an event of such importance to the Japanese girl 
that it does much to compensate her for the fact that 
she was not born to the sterner sex. For the three 
days when the festival is at its height, the boys cast 
longing eyes at their sisters' guests as they troop into 
the house. In the guest room the dolls are all arranged 
on shelves draped in red, extending from the "tatami"* 
almost to the ceiling. They are not playthings, they 
are regular heirlooms handed down to the girls from 
generation to generation. The Emperor and Empress 

♦Tatami. Floor mats. 



GLIMPSES OF JAPAN 19 

are supreme on the highest shelf, elaborately dressed 
in old court costumes of gold and brocade. The Em- 
press' crown is most ornate and in many cases is quite 
a marvel of delicate gold filigree. Below them are seated 
court nobles, musicians, holding quaint old instruments. 
Always there are the 0' Taka Sama, an old white haired 
couple, symbolic of long life and happiness, who in 
Japanese art under a spreading pine tree, he with his 
rake and she with her broom, are favorite subjects for 
the painter's brush and embroiderer's needle. On the 
other shelves are seated warriors and others, who have 
also special lessons to teach of valor, loyalty, and love, 
which keeps the past a vivid reality before the young 
people. 

The origin of this Matsuri* is uncertain. The fact 
however that it is found in the book "Genji-mono- 
gatari" is a guarantee of its being very old. During 
the Tokugawa dynasty the time was fixed as March 3d, 
which has ever since been observed, because of the 
fortunate correspondence with that sign of the Zodiac, 
the "Kami no Mi" or the snake, which was and is the 
sign for the expulsion of the devil. This "harai" or 
expulsion was more or less observed after the birth of 
the girl, but a deeper religious meaning was also at- 
tached to it. 

The Kannushtf made a paper doll after the birth of 
each girl in a family, which was sent to the parents who 
rubbed themselves over most carefully with it, breathed 
heavily on the toy and returned it to the Kannushi. 
On its receipt by the priest he said a prayer over the 
doll for the expulsion of the devil, supposed to have 
left the house in which the child was born and entered 
the doll, which he then threw into the river. The idea 
was destruction to wickedness. The person in rubbing 
himself with the doll, and breathing into it, had loaded 
upon it his or their sins, which it was the object of the 
priest to destroy, and in doing so the priest had as it 
were absolved the penitent of sin. Men and women 

♦Matsuri. Festival. tKANNusHi. Shinto priest. 



20 THE JAPAN MISSION 

both perform this rite, only later, instead of returning 
the doll, it was kept and placed on shelves and great 
repasts were offered to it. Later changes brought 
about what is known to-day as the Girls' Matsuri. 
Three reasons are given for the present custom : 

1 . It was felt necessary that the common people be- 
come familiar with the robes and ornaments worn by 
the Imperial Court and Crown, but without some such 
presentation they could have no knowledge of what 
was being done by their own rulers. The "Dairi 
Sama", Emperor and Empress, were held in deepest 
veneration, and were also proper examples of virtue 
and order for all to copy and emulate. Daijin gala 
(the court official), and the Nyo Kwan (lady in wait- 
ing), also gave some idea of the grandeur of those who 
were honored to serve at court: hence their place in the 
group. 

2. To teach the tie between man and wife; for this 
Matsuri requires male and female characters to be 
complete. 

3. To teach household duties to the future house- 
wives; among the matsuri decorations are many cook- 
ing utensils. Kusa mochi and Uma Saki are offered 
before the dolls, so that the little girls may know how 
to attend to the wants of their husbands. The An- 
cients called the wives of the Daijin, Taisho, and 
others, Mi Dai Dokoro* and these women were re- 
garded as models for all future wives, and came to 
regard the title as an honorable one. 

Ayame no Sekku is kept on the 5th of May. In all 
openings Shobu and Yomogif are stuck around. The 
head of the Iwashi% is burnt over a charcoal fire with 
human hair and bean pods. When the aroma has be- 
come sufficiently stringent, the whole is stuck on the 
windows and doors with a splinter of bamboo to drive 
off all devils and other evil spirits. Certain members 
of the family armed with grass brooms brush the 

* Mi Dai Dokoro, Honorable Kitchen Woman, 
t Shobu, iris; Yomogi, mug-wort (Artemesia). 
% Iwashi. A small fish. 



GLIMPSES OF JAPAN 21 

corners of the rooms at the same time repeating in 
loud voice, "Oni wa soto," "The devil go out;" "Fuku 
wa uchi," "Good luck come in." 

In reference to this custom there is a native proverb : 
"Gae Kagushi mo soroya, yo mo naga naga ni mashi 
mashite, Aral Kusa saya fufura furi." 

"Ready! the odor being strong, the Gods of ill-luck 
will smell it and fly away." 



CHAPTER III 

Religions of Japan 

Buddhism — Shinto. 

Very little can be said here in explanation of the 
native religions; the attempt is simply to give some 
slight idea of what comes within the scope and range 
of one's vision and understanding, with a hope that a 
more intelligent view of conditions as they exist may 
be formed. 

The origin of Buddhism, like that of other religions, 
was in the desire to escape the various difficulties and 
hindrances which beset and ensnare the human race. 
Buddhism That man was dissatisfied with the idea that this life 
was the sum total of our inheritance, is knowledge old 
as the hills ; but how to obtain bliss in the life to which 
each one was hastening was a problem worthy of solu- 
tion. It was supposed that by chastisement of the 
flesh a religious and spiritual life might be forthcoming 
as the outcome of their labor, and the riddance of this 
spiritual form became one of the first duties of the 
Buddhist. 

Buddhism does not deny the existence of soul and 
body, but does deny the separate and exact entity of 
either; both are subject to change and decay, but re- 
appear under some new form ; an incarnation, a life con- 
tinuous in which the forms of ages have left their im- 
print and disposition. 

Buddhism teaches four steps of life: Shamon — 
Hearer. Engaku — Believer. Bosatsu — One who has 
grasped the law and has only one more death. Bud- 
dha — The perfected. 



RELIGIONS OF JAPAN 23 

The exact date of the introduction of Buddhism into 
Japan is difficult to determine, nor is it necessary for 
our purpose. It no doubt came from Corea about the 
sixth century, but the effect of image worship upon 
people who had hitherto worshipped spiritual deities 
was not pleasant. It fell into disfavor, and, though it 
came on two later visits, it was not much before the 
ninth century that any noticeable progress was made. 
Shintoism in various forms and cults seems to have 
been the only religion known by the people, and in a 
nation where everything took its beginning from the 
Imperial authority and every success was attributed 
to the illustrious virtue of the Imperial family, it is 
difficult to understand how Shintoism could ever have 
been overshadowed. Buddhism however had so much 
more to offer. It appealed to the human desires in man, 
his instincts and reason; it offered a philosophy, and 
gave a wider field for education and research; it ap- 
pealed to the esthetic taste abnormally inherent in the 
Japanese; it taught him to appreciate the beautiful in 
art, to carve, to cut, to paint, to build ; the beauties of 
a heaven and the horrors of a hell. 

That it effected great changes in the religious char- 
acter of the people there can be no doubt; it taught a 
new theology which, while embracing in the main 
whatever precepts the older religion contained, ex- 
panded and expounded them in a new way. Life was 
not exactly what people made it; the future could not 
be exactly determined by anything of the present; the 
future condition would be governed not by one's own 
actions alone but by parents and children conjointly 
who had lived and wrought in ages past and gone. A 
religion with less of loyalty for a basis than Shinto has, 
would have been entirely absorbed; but that this was 
not successfully accomplished, is evident to-day. It 
is a fact that by far the greater portion of the people 
are Buddhists; and yet the strange anomaly of the 
two religions beneath the same roof, worshipped by 
the same people, and presided over by the same priest, 



Buddhism 



24 THE JAPAN MISSION 

may be witnessed in many places. And it is no un- 
Buddhism common sight to see the "Kamidana" and the "Butsu 
dan" standing side by side as a family shrine in the 
same house. 

It is not surprising that Shinto should be ousted and 
that Buddhism should come to fill a large place in the 
hearts and lives of the people ; the law of kindness alone 
would have been in itself sufficient to convert; ir- 
respective of a doctrine that every bird and beast and 
creeping thing had at some age belonged to the society 
in which we ourselves lived and moved and had our 
being and that through our prayers and good deeds 
may again become the incarnation of a higher life. 
Who could tell that the tired beast of burden may not 
in some decadent age have been a soul of closest kin. 

But if Buddhism brought in the thought and wor- 
ship of many gods, it also taught the art of carving 
and making them; and much of the best art of Japan 
is the product of that early period. The Dai-butsu of 
Kamakura and Nara, the Jizo of Hakone, Kwannon of 
Asakusa or Benten of Ennoshima are works of art 
almost unsurpassed in any age, and than which in out- 
line of features, grace, and ease it would be almost im- 
possible to conceive of anything more beautiful. Nor 
these alone; the great lions which so often guard the 
entrances, the Ni-o, the gods of wind and thunder, oc- 
cupy their own places in the world of art. 

The traveller who visits Hakone will find carved on 
the face of the cliff looking out over the beautiful lake 
situated in the hollow of a once famous crater the 
beautiful pensive face of the Jizo, the god of children 
and pregnant women. It is said the great Buddhist 
saint Kobo Daishi carved it in a single night. The 
traveller in passing throws into the lap of the god a 
stone for luck, safe delivery for herself or friend, or 
that the angel by the "Bodzu Kawa" (one of the 
Stygian streams) may carefully fold the babes 'neath 
his protecting arms and bear them across where cold 
biting winds and angry demons are not. 



RELIGIONS OF JAPAN 25 

Existence was among the very earliest of the doc- 
trines established by Buddhism, but it was only a fore- 
runner of the development which was subsequently to 
follow; and the great mysteries it was to unravel and 
unfold was but a part. 

The dogma of succession of rebirths was much too 
difficult and subtle for the average mind untrained in 
philosophic speculation; hence only a modified doc- 
trine of transmigration of the soul was taught. But 
this also changed as the eras advanced among the newer 
sects, that not only may one find absolute self in un- 
consciousness, but one sect at least taught something 
in the nature of a personal saviour in Nichiren* 

It is safe to assert that the vast proportion of the 
believers know very little of real Buddhism. The 
Karma which only is real self, the something which 
formed our being and governed our actions, that 
Karma which only passed from birth to birth and life 
to life, that this alone is actual and all else uncertain, 
may well be a doctrine too difficult for any save those 
versed in the lore of metaphysics. 

But the customs and manners incident upon this 
religion are interesting in themselves. At some of the 
most famous and much resorted-to temples the throngs 
of people on great feast days are astonishing ; the eager 
crowd intent on pleasure, and incidentally on worship, 
may well surprise the Western mind trained to think 
and feel deeply on religious matters. That phase of 
human life is missed. The gay booths, the pleasant 
tea-houses, the weird music, the various attractions 
for the visitor to the temple, testify to feelings decidedly 
other than religious and spiritual ; yet it is safe to assert 
that among the number they are few indeed who at an 
early hour have not presented themselves before the 
gods. 

Most temples have three or more steps rising to the 
door by which is placed the box for alms of the faith- 
ful — though it is common to throw the money on the 

* Nichiren. Founder of sect of same name. 



Buddhism 



Buddhism 



26 THE JAPAN MISSION 

floor of the temple before the shrine — the worshipper 
ascends the steps, rings the bell as a signal to the deity 
and to claim his attention while he prays, claps his 
hands three times, and bowing his head reverently, he 
mutters at the same time in a low gutteral almost in- 
audible voice, "Namu Amida Butsu," "Glory to Amida 
the Buddha" or "Namu mio horen gekyo," "Hail the 
true way of salvation, the blossom of doctrine." What 
it all means few care or seem to care to understand; 
even the priests themselves (and this is especially true 
in the country towns) know practically nothing. If 
you believe the doctrine you will be born thousands of 
times into a higher and better life, until finally you are 
absorbed in the everlasting arms of Buddha, is a state- 
ment quoted time and time again; but just what that 
means, few know or understand. 

Is it any wonder then that Buddhism has lost its 
hold on the masses of the people, that thousands are 
drifting into Agnosticism and Atheism, that no new 
temples are being built, and mendicant orders increas- 
ing? 

The Japanese are in need of a religion; they are 
essentially religious ; but with a history of centuries of 
religious ignorance and blind idolatry behind them, 
they are necessarily slower to accept and assimilate a 
new religion, foreign to their habitual thought and un- 
derstanding, than they are to accept worldly progress 
and advancement. But in religion as in other things 
the truth has its own power and brings with it its own 
sure reward; and the history of forty years of Chris- 
tianity in Japan marks a page as brilliant for its suc- 
cesses and advancement as the world has ever recorded. 

The real religion of Japan, and the only one indigen- 
ous to the soil and which has existed from time im- 
memorial, is Shinto, "The way of the gods," or ancestor 
worship. 

The origin of Shintoism and the various stages of 
development through which it passed can be little 
more than conjectured. That it must have grown out 



RELIGIONS OF JAPAN 27 

of some of the many customs incident upon death and 

the place the dead were thought to occupy in the land Shinto 

of spirits or ghosts, there seems much reason to believe. 

One thing may be assured, that Shintoism, since the 
days of compulsory and voluntary human sacrifices, 
has undergone great changes. 

Among modern Shintoists the most important are 
the family, clan, and national cults. 

In direct antithesis to Buddhism, which emphasizes 
the fact that man in this life is spiritually dead, Shinto 
dwells on the theory that death is only the spiritual 
life; and because this new life upon which the spirits 
have now entered lends to them a new dignity and 
power, it is assumed that they have become to an ex- 
tent divine, and as such merit the offering of one's 
prayers; hence ancestral worship. They are also re- 
garded as occupying their own spiritual place in the 
world, and in constant communication with those still 
in it; the idea of a heaven and hell, if conceived of at 
all, is absolutely different from that of any other form 
of religion. 

That they are conscious, is plain from the fact that 
they require food and drink and receive the homage of 
men; yet because the spirits live and move and have 
their being in a world higher than this, they have be- 
come Kami or gods. At the great matsuri in memory 
of leyasu Tokugawa* held in Nikko twice a year, a 
special shrine is carried through the street, and en- 
closed in a second shrine which though also small is 
large enough to enclose the first. Before this specially 
prepared food known as Shinsen is offered amid great 
ceremony and ritual as becomes things offered to the 
deity. Special clothing and purifying was formerly 
required, but it does not appear that this was necessary 
on all occasions, indeed the household gods are seldom 
if ever so honored ; almost any food eaten by the family 

♦Ietasu Tokugawa. First Shogun of Japan. 



Shinto 



28 THE JAPAN MISSION 

may be offered, and the custom of setting apart a por- 
tion of the daily meal is everywhere seen. 

The Kamidana found in all true Shinto families have 
no images or ornaments and no symbols, only a few 
Gohei or strips of paper upon which are written the 
names of deities. In some shrines there is a veiled 
sanctuary — a sanctum sanctorum — in which only the 
Kannushi* may look, but after all it contains perhaps 
nothing more than a mirror into which the pure-hearted 
may gaze and behold an ideal self, free from the con- 
taminations of a naughty world. 

The custom of O'harai (purification), performed at 
stated times during the year, is a peculiar one, and 
physical as much as spiritual purity seems to be an 
essential ; anything on the body which may in any way 
harbor or encourage impurities is scrupulously erased. 
This is specially noticeable in temples of nature wor- 
ship. No deity could be approached until the suppliant 
had first cleansed himself, and this custom, though be- 
coming less rigid, is observed in the home as well as in 
the temples. 

How many gods are worshipped in Shinto it would 
be difficult to conjecture; yearly the number must 
fluctuate with the veneration in which the person 
deified is held, though thousands never change. Nei- 
ther does it depend on the life of the individual so much 
as the conditions or circumstances which caused his 
death. This is notable in the case of the death of the 
Viscount Mori Arinori, the late minister of Education, 
who irreverently pushed aside the curtains of one of 
the shrines of Ise with his cane. Shortly afterwards 
he was assassinated by a fanatic; the murderer was 
cut down by the guard, but so peculiar was the change 
in public sentiment that almost at once people began 
to regard the assassin as a saint, and daily pilgrimages 
were made to his grave, odes composed in his honor, 
and incense offered before his shrine as though he had 
performed a service commendable to the nation. The 

*Kannushi. Shinto Priest. 



RELIGIONS OF JAPAN 29 

same is true of the forty-seven ronin who committed 
suicide after avenging the death of their lord. 

Laws long ago dead or forgotten regulating burial 
were very rigid; to-day however Japan, as other na- 
tions, conducts such services to suit the individual 
taste. There is no fuss, no loud wailing or lamentation, 
only a quiet friendly behavior as might become an 
ordinary event. 

On one occasion the writer was an honored guest at 
the funeral services of a Shinto friend. A few paid 
mourners indulged in some weird music — a funeral 
dirge, — interspersed with short exhortations by the 
Kannushi to the spirit of the dead; a little cake and 
tea served by the wife of the dead man, and that was 
all. The Gohei with the man's posthumous name was 
written and hung in the Kamidana, and the last rites 
of the man had been performed. 

But Gohei are not confined to the Kamidana alone. 
They are to be found on sacred trees, in paddy fields, by 
wayside shrines; they are in reality a vehicle for the 
deity. As one walks in the country, everywhere by 
the roadside little stone images with votive offerings 
of little baby bibs, etc., are found and invariably the 
Gohei hangs there also. The devout stop long enough 
in passing to offer a short prayer to the god there en- 
shrined, for protection during the day or journey. To 
the initiated these are signs of a people deeply religi- 
ous, waiting for the time when the true light shall 
be revealed in all its fullness — as it is being revealed 
in their midst. 

Time, that changer of all, will bring it here also; 
Shinto can no longer satisfy the people growing up and 
being educated in modern learning to-day. An en- 
lightened people will look for a religion which will 
further enlighten; that movement has already begun, 
and as time goes on the old religion will die, as a noted 
Shinto priest said "Not so much because Shinto was 
no good, but because they had found a better one in 
Christianity." 



Shinto 



CHAPTER IV 
Christianity in Japan 

Opening ^ ne y ear 1853 was a memorable one in the history 

of Japan °^ ^ ne "Sunrise Kingdom." Commodore Perry with 
his squadron of American war vessels anchored in the 
waters of Tokyo Bay, and neither threats nor prayers 
had the slightest effect in inducing him to depart till 
something of the purpose and mission for which he had 
come had been accomplished. 

Whatever honor attaches to the first discovery or 
successful adventure, belongs to the United States, 
Japan would, no doubt, in a few years have made some 
effort on her own part to break away from her isola- 
tion and solitude, but it was Perry's hand which oiled 
the machinery to open the way for first negotiations 
with the Shogunate with a view to creating a market 
for American commerce. This was not accomplished 
without some difficulty; the foreign powers could not 
appreciate the position the young Emperor filled in 
the hearts and lives of his people ; and this disregard on 
their part tended to antagonize the great daimyo. 
Moreover, scenes of intolerance on the part of foreigners 
and exacting demands for indemnity for any and every 
offence, were sufficient to keep the relations always 
strained. The "Christian Times" bears witness to the 
fact that much of the trouble was caused by actions 
which would have exasperated much less sensitive 
people than the Japanese. 

Both Perry and others who sought for treaties sup- 
posed that all such, made through the bakufu* and 



CHRISTIANITY IN JAPAN 31 

signed by the Shogun as Tykoon or Tai-Kun, would be 
of national character, and binding upon all ; and it was 
not until 1863 that the United States and the Powers 
leagued with her, awoke to the fact that such treaties 
were not strictly binding, and that the Emperor was 
not, as was supposed, merely the "Spiritual Sovereign" 
of the nation, but also the actual ruler. Fresh negoti- 
ations were at once begun, which ended in Yokohoma, 
Kobe, Nagasaki, and a few other places, being thrown 
open to foreign trade. In those towns where extra 
territorial privileges were granted, foreigners lived in 
a little kingdom of their own. The foreigner was ex- 
pected to live in what was known as the "Settlement." 

The year 1869 witnessed the great struggle of a na- 
tion for its rights, the right of a people to set their Em- Civil War 
peror on the throne, which they believed to be his by 
divine right. The bakufu* the Tokugawa house and 
supporters, were overthrown, the Emperor brought out 
before his people, the capital moved from Kyoto to 
Yedo, as Tokyo was then called, and the government 
established, He has lived in Tokyo ever since; a wise 
ruler, a far-seeing statesman, revered by his people. 

Japan had moved; it was but a step, fraught with 
many misgivings, and red with the blood of her sons; 
but it was a step in advance ; she has never since moved 
backward. The last fifty years of her history have 
been epoch making; the world has witnessed nothing 
like it before ; the most optimistic would hardly predict 
any such future scene. Not the United States, with 
all the greatness of her wealth and intellect, her brilliant 
successes and hopeful promise, has achieved in a cen- 
tury what Japan has done in fifty years. 

But we must turn back a page or so to discover what 
Christianity was doing at this and subsequent periods. The 
That Christianity was in Japan long before the day Jesuits 
of the Rev. John Liggins and C. M. Williams, the first 
missionaries of modern times, is known to every stud- 
ent of history. 

♦Bakufu. Shogun's Government, 



32 THE JAPAN MISSION 

Francis Xavier, the apostle of the Jesuits, landed in 
Kagoshima about 1549 A. D. and began that remark- 
able missionary labor, which, strange to relate, num- 
bered in one century more than a million converts, 
among whom were many of the noblest blood in the 
land. Nobunaga, the then reigning Shogun, a most 
unscrupulous man, seems to have assisted the Jesuits 
in their work. That he was strongly opposed to many 
of their methods, and especially their apparent desire 
for political control, is evident; though why he favored 
them is not quite clear. His successor Hideyoshi was 
a man of a very different type, who looked upon the 
growing influence of Christianity as dangerous in the 
extreme and set himself vigorously at work to uproot 
it. Much persecution followed and thousands suffered ; 
but at his death in 1598 much better things were hoped 
for by the Christians. 

Tokugawa, who succeeded him as Shogun, was a cool, 
cautious statesman of the first order, one who bided 
his time, worked silently and skilfully, and struck only 
when he was ready, but his blow dealt destruction all 
around. Not Nero in the height of his power was 
more merciless and cruel than this great man of Japan. 
In 1603 he issued his famous edict againt Christianity, 
which stood till the present era, in which he gives the 
Christians "not a foot of soil to rest on" and he calls 
"heaven and earth and four seas to hear and obey." 
Th In 1859 Rev. John Liggins and Rev. C. M. Williams, 

. . American missionaries, landed in Nagasaki; but in- 

Ch h ternal troubles were already occupying the minds of 

the people at home, and the Civil War of '61- 65 
sadly crippled and depleted the Church's finances, and 
Mr. Liggins returned to America, it is said for lack of 
support. The General Convention of that year passed 
a resolution to give Bishop Boone of China jurisdiction 
in Japan, but at the same Convention the proposal to 
elect a separate Bishop was defeated. 

The first Christian service held in Japan after the 
landing of Perry, was held in the house of Townsend 



CHRISTIANITY IN JAPAN 



33 



Harris, Consul General and later Minister, a Churchman, 
and was conducted by the Chaplain of U. S. S. Powha- 
tan. The house was formerly a Buddhist temple, and 
the idols were still standing outside the house during 
the occupancy of Mr. Harris. Christianity was still 
under a ban, and books given by the missionaries and 
others were returned with a sharp reproof for wrong 
doing. Open preaching was forbidden, and anyone 
suspected of being a Christian was arrested. Bishop 
Williams was reinforced by the arrival of Dr. Schmid 
in 1860, but little more than the study of the language 
could as yet be accomplished. So little in fact that 
not until 1871, when Rev. A. R. Morris arrived, did we 
get beyond Nagasaki. Mr. Morris, however, began 
his work in Osaka. 

Meanwhile other nations were awaking to the fact 
that here was new ground for missionary enterprise; 
the various protestant societies of America, the C. M. 
S. of England, the French Roman Church, followed in 
quick succession. Bishop Williams calls '63-'64 a 
"time for gathering out stones and briers, removing 
prejudices and false impressions." But signs were 
not wanting that the conditions were improving. 

Some of the daimyo, at least, were preparing for 
whatever good the coming of the foreigners had in 
store for them. Dr. Verbeck writing in '65 says: 
"The people are eager after foreign books, and it is my 
firm conviction that, but for the edicts against Chris- 
tianity, the Bible itself would be translated before this 
day. The Japanese are an enquiring race with a good 
deal of common sense, and are apt to learn." 

In '66 Mr. Williams was consecrated Bishop of China 
with jurisdiction in Japan, and almost immediately ap- 
pealed for three men. In the following year the Jap- 
anese government gave permission to its young men to 
go abroad to study, which was encouraging in that it 
showed that some of the prejudices were giving way. 
In view of this a request was made to the United States 
Government to use its good offices for the repeal of 



Other 
Christians 



Bishop 
Williams 



Persecu- 
tion 



34 THE JAPAN MISSION 

the law making Christianity a capital offence. The 
reply is not very encouraging, but "if the prospect is 
favorable .... will endeavor to have disabilities 
against Christianity removed. " 

The year '68 was not very encouraging; the Bishop 
wrote that he intended removing his place of residence 
from China to Japan with the hope that some Priest 
may be moved to offer himself if only to keep him com- 
pany. In his report he says: "I have only the sad, 
heart-sickening report to make that our Church has 
not a single representative there and we are doing 
nothing to establish the Redeemer's Kingdom in that 
most interesting land." Meanwhile Christianity was 
making much progress, though the Church was a lag- 
gard, and perhaps this very fact aroused fresh hatred 
and opposition. For two or three years the edict 
seems to have been a dead letter, but in the beginning 
of '70 persecution broke out afresh. In Nagasaki the 
Governor summoned the Christians and told them that 
unless they renounced their religion, they would all be 
deported. Appeal was made on their behalf by the 
most influential people, but the orders had come from 
Tokyo and these efforts proved abortive. Eight 
hundred families were called upon to renounce their 
faith; they replied they were born Christians and 
would die so. Much hardship was endured by many, 
and the number of those deported during those few 
weeks was nearly 5,000; their destination was not 
accurately known, but it was said that they would be 
scattered over parts where Christianity had never yet 
reached. 

In '71 and '72 the mission was strengthened by the 
coming of Rev. Messrs. A. R. Morris and G. D. B. Mil- 
ler, who settled in Osaka and began the study of the 
language and did a little school work. Mr. Morris 
speaks at that early date of the Emperor's visit to 
Osaka, the opening of the railway between that city 
and Tokyo, and of the progress already made in the 
Empire. 



CHRISTIANITY IN JAPAN 



35 



The place of Christianity was undergoing a change 
in the minds of the people and much encouragement 
and satisfaction was given by the circulated report 
that the law against Christianity had been repealed 
by special decree of the Emperor; this however on 
investigation was found not to be so. Many were 
still suspicious of the new comers and new order of 
things, and though there were those among the higher 
classes who privately became Christians, and who 
had unbounded confidence and trust in the future 
progress and growth of their country, there were also 
many reactionists among the men of influence, and 
much trouble was experienced. "There must be dis- 
turbance/' wrote the Bishop; "progress only comes 
through disturbance." How true that is; every 
field is red with the blood of the men who have died 
in the cause. "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of 
the Church." 

Dr. Laning was appointed in 1873 and began the 
first Christian hospital in the Empire, now so well Advance 
known as St. Barnabas' Hospital, Osaka. It was a 
red-letter year, not only in the Church, but also in 
the internal and national life of the Country. At 
its close we find Bishop Williams holding services in 
his private chapel, surrounded by Morris, Miller, 
Quimby, Blanchet and Cooper. We also find Govern- 
ment schools being opened and a system of co-educa- 
tion introduced, with equal privileges for advancement 
and promotion to all. It was well voiced in the open- 
ing sentence of the decree, "The way by which every 
one can establish himself and find means for support, 
and prosper in his occupation and life ; this life requires 
no other than to better his living, to widen his know- 
ledge, and increase his power to work." 

In 1874 Bishop Schereschewsky was appointed to 
China, and Bishop Williams made Bishop of Yedo or Bishop 
Tokyo, a position he held till 1889. From '74 on the Schere- 
work was largely one of construction; schools were schewsky 
opened or enlarged, churches built and hospitals 



36 



THE JAPAN MISSION 



begun, and as much as possible done to make up for 
the laxity of former years. Sunday Schools in Yedo 
are most encouragingly spoken of. The fine attend- 
ance, the eagerness to learn, and the general atten- 
tion given by the children as contrasted with the 
foreign child, make it seem a season when the clouds 
had entirely disappeared from the horizon. 

On Trinity Sunday Blanchet and Cooper were 
advanced to the sacred order of Priests. Almost 
immediately after Blanchet began a boys' school 
which has since grown into that fine institution of 
learning now situated in Tsukiji and known as the 
Rikkyo Chu Gakko, or St. Paul's College. Cooper, 
thinking of the opportunities and responsibilities of 
the Church, says: "When before has a nation casting 
its idols to the bats and to the moles knocked so loudly 
at our doors?" 
Education Mrs. Q mm by had also opened a school for girls 
f or which had developed and grown into a like success, 

Women so mucn so that m '77 when Miss Pitman (now Mrs. 
Gardiner) arrived, that school also was moved to 
Tsukiji, its present location, and its name changed to 
St. Margaret's, the Rikkyo Jo Gakko, which to-day has 
its graduates all over the Empire. 

Miss Eddy had also opened a girls' school in Osaka 
which had proved no less successful than those in 
Yedo; and St. Agnes' School, long since moved to 
Kyoto, is to-day the result of that great effort, but 
small beginning, in those days when faith shone 
bright and "hearts were brave again." How few of 
the many visitors who come and go now realize what 
it cost to make those fine modern schools what they 
are to-day; how few realize what it still costs. 

Mr. Griffith, in speaking of the education of women, 
only a little while later, in his "Mikado's Empire," 
says: — "The importance of the new education of 
Japanese girls cannot be over-estimated. The civil- 
ization will never take root in Japan until cultivated 
and planted in the homes; and to secure that end the 



CHRISTIANITY IN JAPAN 37 

thorough education of women is a necessity. In 
this good work American ladies have led the way. 
By them the Japanese maiden is taught the ideal 
associations and ordering of Christian homes, a purer 
code of morals, a regenerating spiritual power of 
which Buddhism knows nothing, and to which the 
highest aspirations of Shinto are strangers.' ' How 
true that is, one has only to visit the schools to-day 
to discover for oneself; and if still a doubt remains 
the sceptic has but to visit a few of the Christian 
homes to be convinced of its truth. Is anything 
more important, or is anything likely to give greater 
results, or be farther-reaching in its influence on the 
moulding of an Empire than the education of its 
women? and education without religion is at best a 
negative quantity anywhere, but necessarily so in 
Japan. 

In 1882 the Board of Missions discussed the ques- 
tion of Episcopal jurisdiction, which seems to have A 
come before the Church in Japan, and much corre- Japanese 
spondence resulted; the Church was however advanc- Church 
ing, and growing, and steadily preparing for closer 
unity. In '87 the foreign Committee of the Board 
of Missions commended the efforts of Bishop Wil- 
liams and others in drafting canons, etc., looking 
towards the erection of a Japanese Church. Bishop 
Poole, of China, the English Bishop, died in 1885. 
His successor Dr. Bickersteth arrived in Japan the 
following year, and very soon Bishop Williams and 
he were in correspondence over the erection of a Jap- 
anese Church. 

In the early part of '87 a committee which had prev- 
iously been appointed by the Bishops submitted to 
a delegate conference, consisting of three from each 
society, the canons, etc., for their consideration. 
Foreigners and Japanese met separately to discuss 
the draft presented and much heart burning was felt 
by some of the foreigners as to the results; but the 
Japanese showed a desire to be guided by proper 



38 



THE JAPAN MISSION 



Its Name 



Bishop 
McKim 



leaders, a cordial understanding was manifested, 
and the most pessimistic was compelled to confess 
that the Japanese were much better able to govern 
themselves than they had been given credit for. 

The question of a name for their new Church was a 
difficult one, and many fears were entertained, all of 
which proved groundless; it is sufficient to say that 
"Nippon Set Ko Kwai" was finally decided on, 
which, whatever other meaning may be pressed into 
the words, has come to bear but one for the Church- 
man of Japan, viz; — "The Holy Catholic Church of 
Japan." Laus Deo! It was a crucial time in the 
Church's history. Dr. Griffith says in the Independ- 
ent, "The average man in Japan has no religion. Shall 
it be Christianity? It will not be Buddhism. The 
reform Buddhists are trying to furnish their country- 
men with a new religion. Alert, keen, not over scrupu- 
lous, they will doubtless have a neo-Buddhism ready. 
. . . . They will Buddhize Christianity if they 
have the power and opportunity. It is no cry of an 
alarmist. The missionaries in the field say that now 
is the vital moment, and they are right." 

The danger is not past, but as the Church grows 
stronger daily, the native religions grow weaker. 
No one realizes this more than the wideawake Japa- 
nese. As far back as '82 the Osaka "Nippo" says: — 
"Shinto never had religious power over men's hearts, 
but it is simply a system of honor and respect paid 
to the Imperial family. Shinto is imperfect as a 
religion and its influence is limited to the ignorant 
of this and past ages. Year after year it is declining, 
and it will altogether disappear. The reason is evi- 
dent: it is imperfect as an education; it has had no 
teacher like Buddha, no disciple like Sakya, no Christ 
like Christianity, and no sacred writings; only tra- 
dition." 

In 1889 Bishop Williams, who had been in the 
missionary field since 1866 and had borne the burden 
and heat of the day, felt that with advancing years, 



CHRISTIANITY IN JAPAN 39 

increasing responsibilities, and poor health, together 
with new demands, he could no longer administer 
so large a field, and resigned. Rev. John McKim, 
who had been in the field for thirteen years, was se- 
lected by the General Convention of 1892 to succeed 
him. Mr. McKim was eminently fitted by temper- 
ament and disposition, knowledge of the people, 
language, and executive ability, to follow in his steps. 
He was consecrated in New York in 1893. For four- 
teen years he has guided and counselled his clergy and 
diocese with a firm master hand; the pleasant, courtly 
gentleman, the far-seeing statesman, a father alike 
to Priest and people. No truer or better compliment 
could be paid than that said of him by one of his 
native Priests: "There are in some Dioceses many 
quarrels and various leaders, but here the Bishop is 
the only leader and there are no quarrels." 

The General Convention of 1898, taking account 
of the growth of the Church and the size of the Diocese Bishop 
divided and made a separate Diocese of Kyoto, but Partridge 
no Bishop was then elected. The House of Bishops 
in 1899 elected Rev. Sidney C. Partridge, who for 
nineteen years had labored in the China field; a man 
with a world of experience of people, and the gift 
of tongues. Dr. Partridge was consecrated in Trinity 
Cathedral, Tokyo, on February 2, 1900, the Feast of 
the Purification of the Blessed Virgin. No greater 
sight has been witnessed in Japan, with seven Bish- 
ops and eighty Priests in line. Bishop Partridge 
began his work at once. He has had to face opposi- 
tion from within and without, and to solve problems 
of the most difficult character ; but the work has grown 
and prospered under him and will prosper. New 
churches are being built, new work is being opened 
and, what is most important for the spiritual life 
and being of the Church in Japan, a new spirit of 
reverence and love for holy things is beginning to 
have some place in that Diocese. If the Japanese 
lack reverence it is not because they are naturally 



40 



THE JAPAN MISSION 



irreverent, but because they were not taught rever- 
ence in previous years. Bishop Partridge is doing a 
quiet, but much needed work in his Diocese, and, be- 
cause for the greater honor and glory of God, he will 
succeed. 







RT. REV. JOHN McKIM, D. D. 
Bishop of Tokyo 



CHAPTER V 
Tokyo District — Tokyo City 

Trinity Cathedral — Trinity Divinity School — St. Matthias' 
Catechetical School — St. Paul's College — School for Chinese 
— St. Luke's Hospital. 

There is probably no city in the habitable globe 
which has experienced the same amount of change, 
advance, or progress during the last half century as 
Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Very few indeed, among 
those who visit it oftenest and who learn somewhat 
of its geography, its customs and manners, its lights 
and shadows, seem to appreciate the fact that except 
in religion, its government and political life is, after 
all, very much the same as other cities. 

To be sure it lacks the English omnibus as a means 
of conveyance, but it possesses the American street 
car; and in addition to this it has what is to be found 
in none of the great western cities, a complete system 
of water ways which lead to almost every corner of 
the city. Boats of all sizes and shapes and for every 
conceivable purpose ply up and down and in and out 
through the various windings of the canals during 
every hour of the twenty-four. 

Streets teem with busy life and activity; here is 
the ubiquitous peddler filled with all the politeness 
and suavity of the Oriental ; here on the steps of some 
temple, hidden behind his canvas sign, is the sober- 
faced fortune teller anxious to throw a horoscope 
for the guileless; here some lazy begging priest rings 
his little bell and recites in guttural tones some unin- 



42 THE JAPAN MISSION 

r«- telligible verses from the O'Sho* understood by none, 
loKyo city j^ through w hich he hopes to receive a little money; 
here the ever-obliging, efficient policeman, standing 
by his little "Koban",1[ is ever ready with his little 
stock of English to aid you in any difficulty. Coolies 
jostle each other and return good-natured banter; 
they seldom quarrel, though the salutations some- 
times given and returned are not meant for drawing 
rooms. Tokyo in this respect has certainly nothing 
resembling the Occident, though interesting in the 
extreme to one who would study nature first hand. 

In the midst of all this busy life, this mad rush for 
some place in the front rank of the world's army, the 
Church is quietly advancing, unassuming, unostenta- 
tious, yet piously doing the work She is meant to do. 
Between the American and English Dioceses in 
Tokyo no fines of demarcation have ever been drawn, 
the Bishop of Tokyo (Dr. McKim) having refused to 
recognize the English authority there. Bishop Bicker- 
steth of the English Church agreed to build no Cathe- 
dral. His successor, Bishop Awdry, has however a 
church (Trinity), known as the " Pro-Cathedral." 

TRINITY CATHEDRAL 

This church was built by Bishop Williams and al- 
most ever since has been used for both Japanese and 
English services. If a cathedral is intended to make 
the pace and set the example for diocesan work, this 
one surely is one of the best to be found. With the 
exception of the Russian Cathedral, this is the finest in 
the city; and its work is entirely in keeping with its 
size and beauty. One hears the cathedral chimes 
morning, noon, and evening, and the sound of the 
geta* on the pavement tells one of the many feet hasten- 
ing to the House of God. Though it has a special 
congregation of its own, it is largely a student church, 
lending itself on the one hand to the work of St. Paul's 
College, and on the other to St. Margaret's School. 

♦O'Sho. Buddhist Scripture. 1"Koban. Police box. 



Cathedral 



TOKYO CITY 43 

Matins and Evensong are said daily for the students, 

and there is a noonday service in English. As one ^Jj^JJ, 

enters this fine church one is impressed with the sight 

of perhaps 200 students, men on the right and women 

on the left. It is truly an inspiring sight and those 

who care little for foreign missions ought to attend 

some of those services and hear the hearty singing, the 

responses, the earnest careful attention given to the 

short ten minute addresses, and then return to wonder 

why they gave so little for missions or whether the 

Church was doing nothing for the youth of Japan. 

The influence of this church upon the student life 
of those two schools is like the current of some mighty 
river pouring its waters into the broad sea. Why is 
it so many who visit Tokyo find so little time amid 
their manifold duties of visiting Buddhist temples and 
Shinto shrines to visit this church at such times and 
worship God in His own House? What an encourage- 
ment it would be to those who are doing the work there 
to find some Christians of a different race joining with 
them in praising God. 

The regular parish congregation, of which the Bishop 
is rector and the Rev. I. Tagawa curate, numbers 
about one hundred and forty. Here all the regular 
societies to be found at work in any well organized 
parish at home have their place ; Sunday School, Bible 
classes, parish meetings, all working in the usual way. 
Trinity is never likely to grow into a great parish, — 
the student life is too strong and too nomadic for that, 
— but its influence will be all the stronger on this ac- 
count; and to-day there is probably no parish church 
in the whole jurisdiction doing more for the general 
uplifting, morally and spiritually, than this one. Ex- 
cepting the long vacation, almost every night during 
the week sermons and religious addresses are delivered 
by the Clergy, either foreign or native, for the benefit 
of the students ; and the increase of Christianity among 

♦Geta. Footwear; clogs. 



44 



THE JAPAN MISSION 



the pupils of both schools is no doubt due in a large 
measure to them. 

TRINITY DIVINITY SCHOOL 

Trinity This school trains the clergy for the two American 

Divinity missionary jurisdictions in the Nippon Set Ko Kwai. 
School Few colleges can look back upon a career of such 

usefulness and profit; few have turned out men who 
have done more credit to themselves or the Church 
to which they belong. It ought to be said right here 
that much misunderstanding among those who should 
know the conditions existing here has prejudiced 
this institution. In the Introductory Chapter of 
this book something of this has, we trust, been made 
clear. 

The old system of two years' study, one year's 
experience and trial, followed again by a second two 
years' study to complete the course, has all been 
changed. It was good enough in its day and genera- 
tion, and did excellent service, but no longer could 
serve altered conditions and times. The change 
gives the school the standard and rank of the best 
government schools in Japan. 

In 1905 Bishop McKim applied for and obtained a 
license to conduct a Semmon Gakko, or technical 
school. This license gives people confidence in its 
standard of education, and indeed unless it had this 
standard of learning and efficiency the Mombu Sho* 
would not grant such a license. There is only one 
disadvantage; the schedule may not be changed 
without the consent of the Department of Education; 
but the advantages are many. Its students are ex- 
empt from conscription for military service — no mean 
advantage to the Church where every man is needed 
for Her own firing line. Every student must be at 
the least a graduate of a Middle School, ranking with 
St. Paul's College; and its faculty may confer degrees, 
recognized by the Government, upon the students 

♦Mombu Sho. Department of Education. 



TOKYO CITY 



45 



who fulfill the requirements of the faculty of the 
school. The old course of four years has now been 
extended to five, divided into two periods of contin- 
uous learning. The first covers two years of instruc- 
tion in Hebrew, New Testament Greek, Advanced 
English, Logic, Psychology, Sociology, Pentateuch, 
Synoptic Gospels and Acts, Old and New Testament 
History, Church History to the Council of Aries, and 
Systematic Theology (Introduction to the Creeds). 
The second or main portion of the course, a period 
of three years, covers the present work, now done in 
four years. Graduates of high standing are given post- 
graduate courses, to whom degrees may be given 
after writing a thesis on some subject assigned by the 
faculty. There is also an advisory committee of three 
Japanese Priests without whose consent no one may 
enter the school. 

This movement for the higher education of the 
Clergy was found necessary because of the advance 
made in government and other schools, and the need 
of an educated ministry to cope with such conditions. 
The advantage of having one school for both Dioceses 
is evident to all ; the plant is quite equal to the require- 
ments, and the cost of maintaining a separate faculty 
is saved to the Church. 

The question of the advisability of one school for 
the whole Nippon Sei Ko Kwai has often been suggested, 
and it is a fact that the advantages would be enormous. 
The American Bishops favor and have advocated 
such a measure. The Church at home has often 
wondered why such a change and combination is im- 
practicable and people have criticised where criticism 
was unjust, misplaced, and uncalled for. Questions 
have been unkindly asked, which bore or seemed to 
bear reflections on those in charge of the work, and 
who are entirely familiar with the conditions which 
prevented the fulfilment of this most desirable object. 

Twenty years ago this school was just starting out 
with its two students in a little room in Tsukiji. To- 



Trinity 

Divinity 

School 



46 



THE JAPAN MISSION 



St. 

Matthias' 
Catechet- 
ical 
School 



day there stands a fine modern brick building, library, 
class rooms, offices, rooms for teachers, and a class 
of students as well equipped to begin their work as 
that of most schools, and with as much ability and 
zeal for the promotion and furtherance of Christ's 
Kingdom among men, and as much knowledge of 
the doctrine and worship of the Catholic Church, as 
any seminary can boast of. 

ST. MATTHIAS' CATECHETICAL SCHOOL 

St. Matthias' Dendo Kwan, or Catechetical School, 
is the result of an effort made about four or five years 
ago to meet the demand for more workers than the 
Trinity Divinity School could supply. The entrance 
examination to this latter institution was stiff, very 
stiff, and though not more strict than was necessary 
for an educated ministry, it kept out many good 
men, for whom the Church has ample use, but whose 
education would not admit them to Holy Orders. 
There seemed to be a place for such a school and results 
have abundantly justified the venture. Men grad- 
uating from this school may never aspire to Holy 
Orders but remain as assistants and catechists in such 
places as the Bishop may order. 

Another great advantage of the younger school is 
that the students receive their entire education in 
the vernacular, an enormous advantage over the 
translation system, especially to men who have had 
no training in any foreign language. 

The course covers two years, Old and New Testa- 
ment Exegesis, General Church History, Theology, 
and Evidences, with whatever extras the time al- 
lotted will allow. The men from this school have 
filled a great need and are an acquisition to the ranks 
of workers in the Church. 

st. Paul's college 

To understand the history of St. Paul's College, or 
the "Rikkyo Chu Gakko," we must go back to 1874 



TOKYO CITY 47 

and the days of Bishop Williams. The school began 
in a little house in Tsukiji with Messrs. Blanchet, J7« Paul s 
Cooper, and Newman as teachers, and with five stu- ^ olle se 
dents, and is the oldest Christian school in the Empire. 
To-day (1907) it accommodates 550 students with 31 
teachers, two of whom are foreigners. In 1876 Mr. 
Blanchet reported 33 pupils, three of whom were board- 
ers. In 1878, during one of the great fires in Tokyo, 
St. Paul's among others was entirely destroyed, and 
for a year the work lay in abeyance. At the end of 
this time the Bishop built a new school across the 
canal from the present dormitory, and opened it 
again under the same name. 

In 1880 Mr. J. McD. Gardiner arrived in the field, 
and, besides taking charge of the school, immediately 
began the erection of a new building on the site of 
what is now St. Luke's Hospital. In 1887 St. Timo- 
thy's mission school in Osaka was discontinued and 
the pupils transferred to St. Paul's, together number- 
ing 72. At the same time the standard of the school 
was raised to make it correspond with that of an Amer- 
ican College. "This was the period when Christian teach- 
ing was welcomed by the Japanese people generally. 
As a consequence the various mission schools were in 
a flourishing condition and found no difficulty in se- 
curing students or in propagating Christian teaching. 
After awhile, however, a reaction set in and the en- 
thusiasm for Christianity began to die out. A wave 
of strong nationalistic sentiment swept over the whole 
country. Mission schools soon began to feel the in- 
fluence of this change in popular sentiment. The 
fact that they were under foreign control, and that the 
method of instruction was foreign, created a strong 
prejudice against them." 

The fever of sentiment was so strong that St. Paul's 
was compelled to change its curriculum, the school 
was made to correspond more with that of the national 
schools, and Mr. Gardiner gave over part of the man- 
agement of the school to a Japanese headmaster. The 



St. Paul's 



48 THE JAPAN MISSION 

change was no doubt a wise one; foreign education, 
however good, could not meet the demands and neces- 
s sities of the country and the times, and the spirit which 

induced the authorities to give way to national re- 
formers is the same spirit which has made the school 
the success and given it the reputation it bears to-day. 

In 1891 Mr. Gardiner resigned, but in order further 
to promote the progress of the school, it was decided 
that a new building with better equipment was nec- 
essary. In 1894, however, the old building was destroyed 
by an earthquake, and the school transferred to the 
parish-house. Money was raised at home and new 
buildings erected. Further changes were made a 
year later; the school was divided, the lower part be- 
coming a regular middle school, while the English 
department was moved to another section of the city. 
In 1897 Rev. Arthur Lloyd was made president, but 
it still labored under the disadvantage of not having 
Government recognition. 

In 1898 this was brought about and a license to 
establish a recognized middle school granted. This 
granted exemption from conscription, as well as other 
national educational privileges, and the number of 
pupils at once advanced to 130, and in 1899 to 230. 
Already the school had gained the reputation of being 
one of the best schools in Tokyo. 

The year 1900 marked a crisis in the history of pri- 
vate mission schools. The Minister of Education 
issued an order which seemed to be aimed at such 
schools and threatened to be their ruin. It read, "It 
is of utmost importance to carry on general education 
independent and apart from religion. Therefore in 
public schools or private schools under government 
recognition, even outside of the regular curriculum, 
no religious instruction may be given nor religious 
service held." Many schools at once returned their 
licenses. But, as St. Paul's had never done more than 
to make religious instruction compulsory to dormitory 
students, Bishop McKim and Mr. Lloyd communicated 



St. Paul's 



TOKYO CITY 49 

with the Educational Department to discover first if 
religious instruction may not be given in class rooms 
outside of school hours. Finding no objection to this, ^ olle Se 
it was wisely decided to continue the present status of 
the school, as being a much more efficient way of propa- 
gating Christianity, than if again reduced to a mere 
handful of pupils. No obstacle has ever been placed 
in the way of religious instruction, and much more is 
being done to-day to teach and inculcate Christian 
truth than at any time in the history of the school. 

In 1903, Rev. H. St. G. Tucker assumed the presi- 
dency, with a school roll of 400. The present license 
allows of 600, but to-day the school is overcrowded 
with its 573 pupils, and the crying need is more room, 
and the shame is all the greater because the need is 
great. The Church needs the very best school it is 
possible to make, in which to propagate Her doctrine, 
and shed Her influence on the nation. The country 
Clergy need such a school to which their students and 
catechumens graduating yearly from the country 
schools may be sent for higher education, and where 
religious influence will be felt and religious teaching 
given. For this reason there ought to he a "Koto- 
gakko"* department which would be the means of hold- 
ing the students for two more years. 

Mr. Tucker has advocated this scheme again and 
again. "It takes our first four years to make them 
Christians," he said, "and just as soon as they become 
Christians they graduate into higher schools, and we 
lose our influence at the most critical time in their 
lives." As an example of this, the percentage of those 
who became Christians in the fifth year class last year, 
was three-fifths, and the present year the percentage 
promises much greater. This of course refers only to 
the students living in the dormitory where they have 
regular religious instruction, and must attend daily 
morning and evening prayer in the Cathedral. 

What is needed is a dormitory to hold 300 students, 

* Koto-gakko. Higher School. 



St. Paul's 



50 THE JAPAN MISSION 

and Mr. Tucker hopes such a building may come in the 
future. It is not disparaging other presidents to say the 
College school was never so popular or efficient as at present. 

Mr. Tucker is a young man eminently fitted both by 
education and natural temperament for the position 
he now fills. It is no sinecure to guide and rule a 
school of such dimensions. Almost all the Clergy of 
the Church to-day are men who got their first lessons 
in Christianity at St. Paul's, and in the future the need 
will be even greater than ever. Bible classes are con- 
ducted by the President and Christian teachers of the 
school, by many of the Clergy and students from the 
Divinity School. 

Much has been said in reference to this school. 
It is hoped people from home visiting Tokyo will be 
interested sufficiently to pay it a visit and learn for 
themselves what it is doing. 

Until now the school has been hampered by in- 
sufficient equipment. Last year a fund of $9,000 
was raised in the United States and with this a new 
class-room building is being erected, which will add 
greatly to the efficiency of the school. Dormitories 
are still needed, and it is hoped these may also be 
given at no distant date. 

SCHOOL FOR CHINESE 

During the past year the number of Chinese stu- 
dents studying in Japan has increased so rapidly 
that it is said there are no less than 10,000 of these 
at present in the Tokyo schools. These Chinese 
students present a difficult problem. Stubborn, not 
amenable to discipline, and shockingly immoral, 
their condition has caused much anxiety and heart 
burnings on the part of those who were in any sense 
responsible for a betterment of conditions. Those 
responsible, however were unable to cope with the 
needs; first because they did not understand the 
nature of the Chinese, and secondly because they 
could not speak their language. 



TOKYO CITY 51 

During the spring of 1906 a letter from a committee 
of the missionary community of Shanghai called the 
attention of the Tokyo mission to the condition of 
Chinese students in Tokyo. After consultations with 
the secretaries of the Chinese Young Men's Christian 
Associations in Tokyo, it was decided to appeal to 
the Board of Missions in New York for an appropria- 
tion to start a school for Chinese. This appeal was 
granted. 

This school began after the Chinese New Year in 
February 1907. Mr. Waung, a graduate of St. John's 
College Shanghai, and formerly principal of Mr. 
Huntington's school in Ichang, has been engaged as 
a teacher. There are also several Japanese teachers 
and the scheme promises to be a success. The plan 
is to give a three years' course in elementary subjects 
such as will prepare the students coming from China 
to enter the various Japanese schools. 

In connection with the school there is a dormitory 
where Christian students make a home, and thus 
form a centre for Christian work among their own 
people. 

The purpose of the school is of course to do some- 
thing to ameliorate the bad conditions now existing 
among the Chinese students of Tokyo. A Chinese 
Priest as teacher and pastor lives among the students 
in the dormitory. The whole is under the Rev. H. 
St. G. Tucker, president of St. Paul's College. 

Much is hoped from this school, and by God's bles- 
sing much will result from this work, for both the 
Church in Japan and the Church in China, and through 
them both, the whole Chinese Empire. 

st. luke's hospital 

It would seem incredible that in a city of nearly 
three millions of people, among whom are several 
thousand Christians of all denominations, there should 
be but one Christian hospital. The missionary field 
has scarcely another instance of neglect to minister 



School for 
Chinese 



52 THE JAPAN MISSION 

<*t T k ' ^° ^ e Physical needs of a people, like this in Japan. 

' !?, ® s Institutions of almost every kind are in abundance, 

osp a but to the Church only belongs this great honor of not 

only supplying spiritual aid but also ministering 

to bodily suffering. 

St. Luke's hospital stands within the bounds of 
the old foreign concession now a concession no longer, 
and daily scores of people come and go from its doors 
in peace and comfort. 

Some fourteen years have now passed since the 
first building was erected, and great changes have 
been experienced; but the St. Luke's which adorns 
the old corner to-day is so unlike the former both in 
appearance and equipment as to be almost unrecog- 
nizable. It is a fact that any hospital, to do efficient 
work in Japan to-day, must keep abreast of the times, 
both in the personnel of its staff and in its equipment. 
No one studying the progress this hospital has made 
during the past seven years will doubt the quality 
of the staff, though the equipment still leaves much 
to be desired. 

For some years prior to 1900, (the year of Dr. Teu- 
sler's appointment) the hospital had been closed, 
and the task of reopening it and putting it on a working 
basis was truly gigantic. It was necessary to establish 
a hospital that would be permanent and maintain 
the highest standards of excellency. "The work 
must show itself progressive, and no legitimate op- 
portunity be neglected to make its name known 
throughout the Empire as a first-class institution." 
Only in such a way could the hospital hope to be 
self-supporting and attain its desired object. 

It is a fact, as we have shown elsewhere, that many 
people are reached by the Church through their phy- 
sical ailments who could never be reached otherwise: 
sympathy and love, care and attention, bring their 
own reward everywhere, but how much more so when 
coupled with teaching of the love of Christ, the real 
Physician of souls. Many cases have come under 



TOKYO CITY 53 

our notice, and the influence is being more widely , 

distributed as the capacity of the hospital increases. " V, ? s 

During 1901 the growth had been so rapid that Mos P ltal 
the old building could no longer accommodate the 
needs, and the work, of enlarging was at once begun. 
A drug store was built for outside trade, operating 
and sterilizing rooms added: the first step towards 
the achievement of years of plans. St. Luke's had 
had many difficulties, accompanied by failures at 
times, but this first step seemed to show that it was 
on the high road to progress and success. 

In 1902 a training school for nurses was begun. 
The course covers three years and the students re- 
ceive such instructions in the various branches of 
medicine as are thought necessary by the Doctor; 
lectures are given daily and such practical demon- 
strations as are necessary to ensure success. The 
superintendent, Miss Araki, received her training in 
the United States, and a more capable, efficient wo- 
man it would be difficult to find. 

Nearly six years have passed since the hospital 
opened, and from a work unknown and with little or 
no reputation to favor it, it has grown into a large 
institution employing four native physicians, a dis- 
pensary superintendent, two drug clerks, a school of 
nurses, and several servants. The dispensary attend- 
ance numbers from 40 to 50 patients a day, and a short 
service is held in the waiting room every morning, con- 
sisting of collects, New Testament reading, and short 
religious instruction. 

This work is under the Rev. K. Tagawa, who has the 
assistance of Mr. Kawakami of the Divinity School. 
Mr. Kawakami will make the hospital his special work ; 
visting sick patients, answering questions from those 
in the dispensary, and as far as possible keeping in 
personal touch with any who may become interested 
in Christianity, after they have returned to their homes, 
or putting them in the hands of the resident mission- 
ary to be given further instruction. 



St. Luke's 



54 THE JAPAN MISSION 

Recently the two old wards were enlarged to double 
their capacity, and special surgical dressing rooms and 
ospi a ^-^ kitchens attached. Another operating room was 
built and reserved for abdominal and such like opera- 
tions; the old operating room is now used for septic 
cases, but to meet modern methods it was necessary 
to have two separate operating rooms for the hosiptal. 
Later a charity ward with six beds was opened down 
stairs, with separate bath and toilet rooms attached; 
this brings the present capacity of the hospital to about 
forty-four patients. A new sterilizing plant to supply 
sterilized water and steam in the operating rooms, and 
an electric plant for lighting the building, were added 
last summer. The hospital expects to come into 
possession of the adjoining strip of land, which is to 
be used for the new wards; these will be built to take 
care of twenty charity cases each, and will be equipped 
with all the best up-to-date hospital appointments. 

The hospital for several years has been self-support- 
ing, so far as actual running expenses are concerned. 
There is already on hand a part of the fund necessary to 
build the new charity wards, but about ten thousand 
dollars are still needed to complete the buildings. 
The hospital is full of patients; in many cases appli- 
cants are refused for lack of space and ward rooms. 

There should be at least eighty rooms, and the earn- 
ings of the work can be made to support that number; 
therefore, all that is needed is funds to build the addi- 
tional wards. The income is derived from the board 
of private patients, surgical fees, the pharmacy, and 
Dr. Teusler's private practice, with an allowance of 
$1,000.00 from the Board in New York. 

Dr. Teusler says, "I think we are justified in saying 
that never before has the outlook been so bright and 
encouraging; I trust that we may have the privilege 
of enlarging the hospital properly to meet the growing 
demands which are daily being made upon us." Truly 
a modest demand! to minister daily to God's poor, to 
heal the sick, and tell them, during the healing, of a 



St. Luke's 



TOKYO CITY 55 

Savior's love, His Incarnation, Death, and Resurrec- 
tion; to shed some spiritual light and health into the , 
soul blind to the soul's need, to make children of God 0S P lta 
and heirs of eternal salvation; for this and more the 
Church begs in vain for ten thousand dollars. 

All sorts and conditions of people are treated; rich 
and poor, sailors, soldiers, merchants, policemen, 
traders, students, and coolies are represented. 

The Doctor gives a story which should not be omitted 
here. "A Japanese woman, well on in the meridian of 
life, was brought to the dispensary for treatment. On 
examination it was found necessary to put her in the 
hospital for treatment, and she remained under our 
care for six weeks. During that time it was found she 
had worked as a sewing woman for years in an English 
family of Christian people. The mistress had per- 
sistently striven to bring her to Christianity, but with- 
out success; in fact so strong was she in Buddhism 
that she frequently left the room if the subject of Chris- 
tianity was introduced. When in the ward she, like 
the other patients, attended prayers and instructions, 
and, day by day becoming more familiar with the 
routine of the hospital, she realized more fully from 
the practical example about her, the true significance 
of the work. From being opposed to a word she 
finally asked for instruction, and before leaving the 
hospital was an eager listener and searcher after the 
truth. A few months later she was baptized and to- 
day is as strong a Christian as she had once been a 
Buddhist." 

How many such stories may be told ; indeed almost 
every Priest in the field can bear witness from personal 
experience to just such examples as this. 

No doubt the needs and work of this institution are 
only partially known by the Church at home. There 
must be many, aye scores, who are just waiting for 
such opportunity to place a memorial to some loved 
one laid away in a little "God's acre." Here is the 
opportunity, to build a ward, or endow a bed, which 



56 THE JAPAN MISSION 

shall keep green for all times the memory of child, 
*" "J " 11 s parent, or husband, and bestow lasting good on the 
Asakusa church and Her work in Japan. 



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CHAPTER VI. 
Tokyo District — Tokyo City Parishes 

Shinko Kyokwai — St. John's, Asakusa — All Saints', Kudan — 
Christ Church, Kanda — Grace Church, Kojimachiku — St. 
Timothy's, Hongo — Holy Comforter, Kihonbashi Ku. 

Shinko Kyokwai, or "True Light Church/' is an 
off-shoot from Trinity Cathedral parish. The present 
location was the home of the first work begun by 
Bishop Williams, now fully thirty years ago. After 
some time the Bishop felt that this was a poor location 
and moved to the present site in Tsuki ji ; the building 
then used, being small, was allowed to remain, and in 
it mission work was carried on which at length de- 
veloped into the present parish of the "True Light." 
It is the oldest Christian building in Tokyo, though 
the Church has little cause to be proud of it, except 
for the noble work it accomplished in saving souls 
and enrolling them among the saints of God. 

Mr. Sugiura, the Priest, is one of the older Clergy. 
His work is in an extremely difficult neighborhood, 
and he holds the reputation of being the hardest 
worker in the mission; were it not so, or were he a 
less energetic man, no congregation could have been 
kept together or drawn a new hearer. Yet in those 
years no less than 375 persons have become members 
of Christ and children of God in this little building, 
which ought now to be supplanted by a new church, 
and put on exhibition in America for the benefit 
of those who give nothing to foreign missions. How 
ashamed people would feel seeing it and thinking of 



58 THE JAPAN MISSION 

the zeal and love for Christ a man must have who 
worked fifteen years in such a place. 

Located near the church are the barracks of the 
Imperial Guards, and one of the features of its con- 
gregation is to find a fair sprinkling of soldiers in at- 
tendance, not a few of whom are Christians. 

A fine effort is being made to gather money for a 
new building to replace the present curiosity. A 
small fund is already on hand, and with a new church, 
a new future opens before this parish in which one 
may well look for greater results than ever before. 
The district is one in which the Church ought to be 
strong and take advantage of the opportunities lying 
before Her. May God send those faithful souls their 
heart's desire speedily. 

st. John's, asakusa 

St. John's ^' J° nn ' s Church is situated in the very centre of 
Asakusa " ^ ne S rea ^ Buddhist locality of Tokyo. If any con- 
gregation can be said to carry the Light for Christian 
faith and worship into the heart of the enemy's camp, 
that honor must be given to this church. Asakusa 
is the Tokyo home of the Great Kwannon, the goddess 
of mercy. This was once a male deity, but at some 
period in its existence changed its sex. 

Few places are better known to travellers and sight- 
seers than the Asakusa native bazaars, temples, 
theatres, and show places; and how few turn their 
steps to see the temple of peace and righteousness; 
yet few churches have done more for the moral and 
spiritual uplifting and upbuilding of its people than 
this poor little structure and the men who have filled 
its pulpit. 

It was begun as a mission of the "Shinko Church" 
more than twenty-five years ago by the Rev. B. 
Cooper during his term of years in Japan. Asakusa 
was by no means a restful place, as was speedily dis- 
covered, and the Church led a very nomadic life for 
many years. After Mr. Cooper's return to America, 



TOKYO CITY PARISHES 59 

Bishop Williams himself ministered to its needs and 
for a few years all went well. 

In the big fire of '86, however, its building, with 
many others, was consumed in the conflagration. 
This greatly lessened the ardor of the Christians, 
but in a year a new church was built and the Rev. K. 
Seita given charge. From then until now the church 
has occupied a necessary and important place in the 
general life of the district. Mr. Seita died last year, 
lamented and loved by his own people and by all 
who knew him. A man from the humbler walks of 
life, educated at the middle school and Trinity Di- 
vinity School, he was one of nature's noblemen, one 
who lived near his Master and loved his neighbors. 
His was a loss the Church could ill afford, though 
she may rejoice in that one more of Her sons is enrolled 
among the Saints of God in the Church Triumphant. — 
Requiescat in pace. 

Mr. Seita was succeeded by the Rev. P. Daito, a 
young man from the Divinity School in Tokyo, who 
later went to the Philadelphia Divinity School. 
He has taken up the work and is vigorously and man- 
fully carrying it on in the footsteps of his predecessor. 
The congregation is drawn from the business and 
working classes, and is an evidence of the Church's 
power to do work among people whose labor calls 
for 365 days in the year. 

Many will remember that this church was partially 
destroyed during the riots resulting from the dis- 
satisfaction over the Portsmouth Peace Conference. 
This ought not to be taken as an attack on Christian- 
ity. The Asakusa park is a play-ground for some of 
the worst element in Tokyo, and on the day of the 
rioting they were being preached to by a good brother 
whose zeal was much greater than his discretion and 
common sense. He took this occasion to abuse the riot 
and praise the Conference for what it had done. The 
passions of the mob had already been terribly excited, 
they were bent on mischief without really knowing 



St. John's 
Asakusa 



60 THE JAPAN MISSION 

why. St. John's church was near, it was the home of 
the " Prince of Peace." But they did not know the 
Prince, as somebody remarked, and how then could 
they know His dwelling? It was finally saved by the 
police, but not before considerable damage had been 
done it. In a little while however, it was repaired 
and again in use, and the result is that much sympathy 
has been directed towards the church and its work. 

A year ago clubs for men and girls were organized 
with a view to bringing a class of young people here- 
tofore untouched into contact with first the social 
and later the religious and spiritual life of the Church. 

Much is being done among the children. The Sun- 
day school, always a great feature of the work in Japan, 
has as many as can be properly taught, and from them 
many are brought to Baptism. The influence of the 
children reacts upon the home life, and in not a few 
instances the children have taught the parents and 
brought them to the Church. 

Mr. Daito looks forward hopefully to the time when 
his church will be self-supporting, the great aim and ob- 
ject, — and the most laudable — of the Japanese people. 

ALL SAINTS, KUDAN 

All Saints' church, in the centre of the student dis- 
trict of Kudan, was begun by the Rev. E. R. Wood- 
Si j~~ man n early twenty six years ago. The Rev. T. Cole 
and H. Page were also at different times in charge. 
About ten years ago the Rev. A. Lloyd took charge, 
organized it into a parish, and made it the center of 
his Christian work among the students of our English 
school in that neighborhood. It would seem to be the 
special property of the president of St. Paul's College, 
for when the Rev. H. St. Geo. Tucker succeeded Mr. 
Lloyd as president of St. Paul's he also succeeded to 
All Saints' Church. This is a great mistake ; the presi- 
dent of St. Paul's is too busy a man, and the distance 
is much too great, to allow him to do justice to himself 
or his congregation. 



All 
Sal 
Kudan 



TOKYO CITY PARISHES 61 

The work has been for the most part carried on by- 
people from Tsukiji who could only give a part of Sun- 
day to the congregation. In consequence the congre- 
gation has suffered from a lack of pastoral care, atten- 
tion, and training. Now this is not the fault of a man, 
or men, or system, or plan; it is the result of growth, 
and of calling upon one man to do what ought to be 
done by several. Still there are many among its con- 
gregation strong and intelligent in the faith. 

It can however never be more than a church with a 
student congregation; there is little more than dormi- 
tories to be found in that neighborhood; but it ought 
to be a valuable work among the students of Kudan in 
the future. There is here a great opportunity. Year 
after year there come to Tokyo from all over the coun- 
try Christian students to study in the larger city 
schools. This church ought to be equipped to look 
after these and build them up in the faith. Instead it 
is handicapped by having no resident pastor and a 
church building which threatens at any moment to 
fall down on the heads of the worshippers. 

This parish needs a new church and needs it now. 
A plant of liberal dimensions should be built, so that 
some accommodation could be made for the students: 
just such a plant as Mr. Welbourn appealed for his 
work among the University students in Hongo ; and a 
man who can devote all his time to the work. If some 
one would put $100,000 in the hands of Bishop McKim 
for student work in Tokyo, somewhat of the need might 
be accomplished. 

During 1906 Miss L. Boyd has taken up work under 
Mr. Tucker. Her work among the women promises to 
be a success, and the assistance she will be in keeping 
Mr. Tucker informed of what he can best handle in 
shortest time, will be of no small moment. 

The Church's influence among students is like sow- 
ing seed broadcast; it springs up and bears fruit every- 
where. 



62 



THE JAPAN MISSION 



CHRIST CHURCH, KANDA 

Christ Church is situated on the edge of the Kanda 

Christ student district, not far enough in to be able to do 

Church direct work among young men, and not far enough out 

Kanda *° ^ e m ^ ne rea ^ f amnv quarter. This is not due so 

much to bad judgment in purchasing ground as to the 

various changes which have come about in the district 

during the past ten years. This, like most of the older 

work, dates back to the days of Bishop Williams whose 

work was chiefly in Tokyo. 

The present Priest, Rev. A. Minagawa, is now in the 
ninth year of his pastorate, which might be called nine 
years of prosperity. The work has taken on new life 
and the parish is greatly encouraged. A new church 
has been built on a site purchased some years ago, and 
now that its position has been finally located and fixed, 
it is only a matter of steady work to build up a strong 
parish. 

The effects of the war were greatly felt in this quarter, 
perhaps because of the great student population, and 
the first year of war was well nigh ruinous to the work. 
But proper steps were taken to counteract influences 
hostile to the Church, and the result was most satis- 
factory; in a short time the conditions became normal 
again. It was found that the Church could do much 
more among the people in the way of assistance after 
the war, and all signs of bitterness rapidly faded before 
the sympathy and comfort extended by the Priest, and 
which in time was destined to bring great reward. 

A class of people never before touched have been in- 
fluenced to study the claims of Christianity. "Busshi- 
tsu,"* says the Priest, "is rampart in my district; but 
we are killing it, and in its place is growing a desire 
for Christianity which this church is endeavoring to 
supply." Here is also a fine Sunday school and men's 
club, each doing excellent work in imparting Christian 
knowledge and education. Mr. Minagawa is a force- 

♦Busshitsu. Materialism. 



TOKYO CITY PARISHES 63 

ful, clear preacher, who has something to say and knows 
how to say it. 

GRACE CHURCH, KOJIMACHIKU 

Some time about 1886 or 1888 a woman worker 
opened a class in the Kojimachiku district of Tokyo, Grace 
with the object of interesting students and others in Church 
the study of the Bible. This class grew until it be- Kojima- 
came known as the Bible Club. In 1888 Miss Aldrich, chiku 
now in Kyoto came to the field, and began her work 
as associate. Together much more could be accom- 
plished, and new friends could be added to the grad- 
ually widening circle, now giving such great promise 
of future possibilities ; so that when the Rev. J. Thomp- 
son Cole decided to open regular dendo (mission) 
work, he found a goodly number acquainted with 
Christian teaching, and a fair foundation already 
laid for future building. He named the Church 
"Hakuaisha Kyokwai", as Grace Church was then 
translated, and which it retained for many years. 

Among the people interested in the success of Grace 
Church were Miss F. Watanabe, now Mrs. Ishii, and 
Miss H. Tsuda, names well known in the Japanese 
Church, who began Sunday school work among the 
pupils of the district. Mr. Cole put his heart into 
the work. It is on record that he was a hard worker, 
and the mission increased rapidly. Miss Suthon 
came out in 1890, and was a very valuable addition. 

It was felt, however, that Nibancho, the old loca- 
tion, was no longer suitable, and the Kogisho was 
moved to Gobancho, Kojimachiku, and finally estab- 
lished itself. 

In 1892 Mr. Cole returned to America, and Rev. 
J. Ambler succeeded him and carried on the work 
for three or four years, or perhaps until his going to 
Maebashi in 1896, when Rev. A. Lloyd took charge. 
Towards the end of the year, Rev. J. S. Motoda 
was given charge of the church; a union which has re- 



64 



THE JAPAN MISSION 



Grace 
Church 
Kojima- 
chiku 



mained unbroken till now, and under which both 
Church and parish have been greatly blessed. 

In 1898 a new site was selected for a church in Ni- 
bancho, Kojimachiku, containing 246 tsubo* of land, 
on which stood three small buildings, which were 
remodelled and made into a dwelling for the Priest 
in charge. In the meanwhile the parish has grown 
so rapidly that Dr. Motoda, who had also many other 
Church duties to perform, found an assistant necessary, 
and Mr. T. Matsushima was ordained to the diaconate 
to help him. A year later he was made Priest, and 
practically took over the parish work, Dr. Motoda 
retaining only nominal charge. 

In 1901 a beautiful brick church, designed by Mr. 
J. McD. Gardiner, was built, and consecrated by 
Bishop McKim. This church was given by Mr. S. 
P. Smith who for some years had been advisor to the 
Japanese government, as a memorial of his wife who 
died in Japan. The money was given through Bishop 
C. M. Williams, a friend of the donor. In all, the 
church cost about Yen 15,000 ($7,500). In 1906 
Mr. Matsushima resigned, and Dr. Motoda, who is 
also head-master of St. Paul's College, again assumed 
charge of Grace Church. 

This parish is perhaps the finest in the country, 
and though not entirely self-supporting, has always 
contributed quite largely towards its own support. 

It fills a large place in the life of Kojimachiku, and 
might be called the fashionable church of Tokyo. 
There is a great work, however, to be done among 
the better class of people to whom Grace Church ap- 
peals, and Dr. Motoda is eminently qualified, and 
ought to be the proper man to do it. Much more 
of his time will be devoted to this congregation in 
the future than in the past, and in very few years we 
may confidently look forward to this church becom- 
ing an independent, self-supporting parish. 

Clubs for men and guilds for women are features 

*Tsubo is 6x6 feet. 




ST. AGNES' GIRLS AT ARCHERY 



chiku 



TOKYO CITY PARISHES 65 

of this parish. Dr. Motoda for years has been a re- 
cognized leader in both Brotherhood of St. Andrew p5 ace . 
and Y. M. C. A. circles, and no finer body of young it Yf 
men can be found anywhere than in Grace Church. ^ 1 J ™ a " 
The communicant list has passed the century mark, 
and the Sunday School and Confirmation class are 
gradually growing and increasing in numbers and in- 
fluence. 

Dr. Motoda was for two years head of the Gov- 
ernment school for training of candidates for the 
civil service; was selected as one of the Y. M. C. A. 
representatives sent to India and China to present 
the course of Christianity in Japan, and investigate 
conditions there; has also represented the Y. M. C. A. 
in the United States, and is a man of great power 
and influence among all parties in this country. 

The present translation of " Grace Church" is "Sei 
Ai Kyokwai" '. 

st. timothy's, hongo 

The work of the Rev. J. A. Welbourn in Hongo is a 
special one for the benefit of students of the Imperial 
University and higher schools. No work is more 
needed than this, nor is there any work in the whole 
Empire which calls more for ability of a special kind. 
It ought not to be supposed, however, that such work 
calls for special self sacrifice or physical endurance; it 
does not. It simply calls for men who know men, 
who can go in and out among them, meet them on 
their own ground, in learning, common-sense, gentle- 
manly qualities, and desire to further and enhance 
the moral and spiritual lives of the men with whom 
they associate ; they are gentlemen among many. 

In the neighborhood of Hongo, there must be more 
than ten thousand students, eager to learn, eager to 
be taught, scholars seeking more light and knowledge 
from any one with ability to demand their respect. 
For many years this work was wholly neglected, in 
the first place for lack of necessary funds, and secondly 



66 THE JAPAN MISSION 

for a man to put there who could devote his whole 
' , time to the students. It has been evident for years 

Timot y s ^^ ^^ wag a g rea -^ opportunity. The fact that a 
Kongo chapel practically built by the contributions of stu- 

dents and ministered to by an Unitarian native pas- 
tor was Sunday after Sunday, and week after week, 
filled with young men seeking after the truth, that 
truth which could not be gained from the lips of that 
man, was sufficient to cause heart searchings on the 
part of those responsible for the future of our Church 
in that neighborhood. Much was being done by the 
parishes in the vicinity, but their own parish work 
was of primary importance, and hence only a fringe 
of this great need could be touched. The Rev. B. T. 
Sakai, through some friends in America and with the 
consent of Bishop McKim, was able to raise some 
money for university settlement work; and on his re- 
turn opened a "Doshi-Kwai," a sort of "fraternity house," 
for the benefit of the students. Classes have been 
organized and such work as seemed wise to Mr. Sakai. 
He being only a Deacon, it was felt that, if the work 
was to be done properly, a Priest was a necessity, 
and sometime in 1903 the Rev. J. A. Welbourn was 
also sent to take up part of the student work. 

The chapel was in Mr. Welbourn' s house and Mr. 
Sakai assisted him at the services conducted there. 
Their work, though on practically the same lines and 
with the same purpose in view, has never been entirely 
connected; each has his own classes, and exerts what- 
ever influence he can in his own way on the class of 
students he can best attract to him. The system has 
some disadvantages, in that there is lacking the perfect 
unity so necessary for complete success ; but it has the 
advantage of each one being independent and able to 
do his own work in his own way, and precludes any 
opportunity of discord. 

During the time of work there have been seventeen 
Baptisms and nine Confirmations. The pastoral work 
is done by Mr. Welbourn, besides which he estimates 



Hongo 



TOKYO CITY PARISHES 67 

that he has come in contact with about fifty students 

a week through classes and in other ways.* ' . , 

During his furlough of 1905 he made an attempt to 
interest the college men of America, and was successful 
in raising $2,000 towards a church for students. The 
interest taken by many eminent and well known people 
at home is a proof that when properly appealed to 
they will respond. Men prominent in educational and 
other important circles have put their names to the 
project of a "College Church" for Hongo, such as: 
Geo. W. Pepper (who proposed the scheme), Endicott 
Peabody, James L. Houghteling, Wm. J. Schieffelin, 
Robert H. Gardiner, Pres. Remsen of John's Hopkins 
University, Rev. Angus Crawford, Dean of the Vir- 
ginia Seminary. 

The project is to be worked up by the Secretary of 
the C. S. M. A., and with the endorsement given, it 
ought to succeed. 

Colleges giving $1,000 are entitled to a tablet in the 
church, and lesser amounts will be recognized in other 
ways. "Such a church" says Mr. Welbourn "will be a 
visible witness to a faith still living in American col- 
leges, and will have a moral value in Japan." So it 
will, and let us thank God there are such souls who 
think enough of students, and know enough of the 
temptations of student life to lay aside their own work 
to think of a scheme which will benefit one, or lead 
one to a higher standard of living, or help one over the 
ditches and myriad pitfalls in the path of the student 
everywhere, but especially in Japan. But what an 
arraignment it is upon the Church at large that she 
should first send a man to propagate Her faith and 
teaching, and then ask a few college students to supply 
a building in which to do Her work. 

It is the old story, "brick but no straw." The 
schools in Tokyo are teaching the very best this country 
can produce in the way of brain, and the influence of 

♦The present parish community numbers thirty-three members, of 
whom twenty-two are communicants (1907). 



68 THE JAPAN MISSION 

«. such is far reaching; is it not so in every country? 

Ti th • Why should it not be in Japan? And unless the proper 
z_ ° y s support be given at the time when help is most needed 
on8 »° and counts for most, the work must necessarily lan- 

guish. Mr. Welbourn's chapel altar is in the " cup- 
board" for in this way only can he keep it from un- 
necessary irreverence. Just think of it! This Church 
of God with all its millions, cannot spare enough to 
build a church where proper services can be held in 
His Name. What is really needed is a plant and 
staff of workers who can send out into the country 
year after year, from the university settlement, at 
least one hundred Christian students: men who can 
and do occupy the finest official and social positions in 
the towns and villages in which they reside, and men 
who will not be ashamed to call themselves Christians. 
Let us hope the Church at home will see to it that 
this work has not to wait till the American colleges 
can do what She Herself ought to do at once, and so 
give the people in whose care under God this respon- 
sibility is placed an opportunity of proving whether 
they are equal to the demand or no. 

In connection with this work is the " Doshi-Kwai" 
under the Rev. B. T. Sakai. Mr. Sakai is well known in 
America, where he raised much money for settlement 
work among the university students, and in which he 
has been interested for some years. It is unfortunate 
that just when we hoped to get some information re- 
garding his work, he should be suddenly taken ill and 
have to leave Tokyo. 

HOLY COMFORTER, NIHONBASHI KU 

The Holy Comforter is probably the newest mission 
in this jurisdiction and certainly the most recent in 
Tokyo ; in a few years it ought to become an important 
thriving work. 

In all Nihonbashi Ku* the Church has had no work 
for years, though there is not a more densely crowded 

♦Name of a district or ward of Tokyo. 



TOKYO CITY PARISHES 69 

district in Tokyo. Perhaps it was because men were . 
scarce or afraid to tackle the old shell-back fish mer- _ y 
chants and rough coolie laborers so plentiful there, or 
because of a desire for less odorous quarters; but for 
whatever reason, it was left to the veteran Jeffreys, 
amid his manifold labors of teaching English, to begin 
this work of saving souls in that crowded district. 

In the early days, when the tide was at its flood, 
many who had received the truth from his lips and 
kindness from his hands in Sendai, had gone to Tokyo 
looking for brighter prospects. He found them there, 
however, waiting for him, good men and true, and they 
rallied about him, helped support the work, gave their 
time, their confidence, their love and their prayers. 

Whatever else might be said there is one bit of his- 
tory which is well worth recording. The Church has 
few brighter spots in Japan than this little mission 
begun in the upstairs room near the Sui Tengu Temple. 
At first only a few students of English came, but as 
the work was not essentially English, these were 
looked after and taught by Alfred Sweet the son of 
Rev. Charles F. Sweet of the Divinity School, while 
Mr. Jeffreys devoted himself to the others. As many 
as sixty people often assembled there. Many of the 
younger people of Tsukiji came and lent a helping 
hand, and the first year's work was very successful, 
though it was still largely a student work. 

An effort was made to break away from the stu- 
dent class, and work solely among the resident popu- 
lation ; with this in view the Kogisho was moved north 
of Sui Tengu into a more attractive neighborhood, 
where better success is hoped for. The organist is a 
girl from St. Margaret's school; one of the Sunday 
school teachers is an old pupil of Maebashi days, when 
Mr. Jeffreys was teacher in the Chu Gakko there. 
The Server and church warden are from Sendai. 
"Our object," said the Priest," is the diffusion of light 
in a dark place ;" truly a noble one. This district sadly 
needs the care and oversight of a foreign lady worker 



Comforter 
Nihonba- 
shi Ku 



Comforter 
Nihonba- 
shi Ku 



70 THE JAPAN MISSION 

to take up missionary labors among the women and 
7w?#^^^« girls. The need is appallingly apparent, and like all 
other work in Tokyo, returns are sure to come through 
patient teaching. It is still in its infancy, but well 
prepared, properly taught candidates will tell any- 
where, and especially in Japan. 

Classes of various grades have been started for 
students and the young people in the vicinity of the 
mission room, and once a week a lady from Tsukiji 
conducts classes among the women and girls and 
the class for this year's Baptism promises to be large. 
Much may be expected from the fine start made here. 



CHAPTER VII 
Tokyo District — Country Stations 

Kawagoe, Sugamo, Urawa, Maebashi, Takasaki, Kumagaya, 
Tamamura, Utsunomiya, Nikko, Mito and its out-stations, 
Sendai, Fukushima, Aomori, Akita, Hirosaki, Odate 

KAWAGOE 

Kawagoe is perhaps the oldest out-station in this 
District and certainly it has the honor of having the 
oldest native priest in the two American Districts, if 
not of the whole Japanese Church. 

In 1878 the Rev. S. Tai, then a catechist in Tokyo, 
was sent by Bishop Williams to investigate around 
Tokyo, and made the discovery that Kawagoe was a 
good place to plant the Church. Subsequently he, 
among others, made frequent visits for preaching 
services, and such other work as could be done in those 
early days. 

In 1886 a regular catechist, Totsuku Rokusaburo, 
was installed, and began work under the care of one of 
the priests in Tokyo. The work was greatly blessed; 
that year seven persons became Christians, Mr. Tai 
was advanced to the diaconate, and sent to take up 
residence in Kawagoe. 

In 1889 a church was built on Main St., a regular 
parish formed, and vestry elected; unfortunately how- 
ever, the big fire of March 1893, which swept the town, 
took the church with it. Outside assistance at once 
poured in, and the end of that same year saw a new 
church ready for consecration. It was a red-letter day 
for the Church: Bishop McKim, Rev. Messrs. Page, 



72 THE JAPAN MISSION 

Ambler, Cole, Chappell, and Dooman, among the 
vawagoe foreigners, were present ; and most of them had, for short 
periods, had the priestly oversight of the parish. 

In 1902 Mr. Ono, then stationed at Kawagoe as 
catechist but at present Deacon in Hirosaki, exchanged 
places with Mr. Kuwano the present catechist; both 
of whom had done, and are still doing, excellent work 
in their respective fields of labor. 

Among the foreign ladies who assisted Mr. Tai from 
Tokyo must be mentioned the Misses Perry and 
Gueppe. The first returned to America some years 
ago, the latter married. 

Two years later (1903) the Misses Ranson and Hey- 
wood were sent to Kawagoe and with their woman 
assistant began work with Mr. Tai. The work done 
by these two ladies in the past four years, and also 
that undertaken for the future, is remarkable, and 
assures us that the effort being made to bring the 
Church before the people of that town and the outlying 
districts is sufficient evidence of their zeal. 

A night school for sewing classes with a fair attend- 
ance has been in progress for some time, and many 
were brought to the Church through this medium. 
The new Kotojogakko,* recently opened by the 
Government will, no doubt make this work needless 
in the future. A kindergarten with twenty pupils, al- 
ways a door-opener, has also been begun, and this in 
itself will afford all the scope necessary for work among 
women and children. 

It is no less true of Japan than other countries that 
parents will warm up over the merits of the little ones, 
when otherwise they remain icicles to the stranger. A 
friend who was a conscientious physician once com- 
plained of the lies he was compelled to tell to mothers 
who desired his praises for their children. He dis- 
liked having to sing the praises and beauty of some of 
the most dirty-nosed little boys he had ever seen; but 
finally struck upon an idea. When asked "Now Doctor, 

* Higher girls' school. 



TOKYO COUNTRY STATIONS 73 

isn't he a dear?" remarked with much gusto ; "Now that 

is a child!" Human nature is very much the same Kawa £° e 

every where. 

Two Sunday schools are conducted, one in the 
church on Sunday morning before service, and one in 
the afternoon at the ladies' house.* 

The Church is doing an excellent work in this con- 
servative, slow, old-fashioned town, where prejudice 
was strong and not easily overcome. It is fast dis- 
appearing before the efficient work this fine staff is 
doing there, and it is not difficult to see self-supporting 
parishes at no very distant date. 

Miss Hey wood says: "The present outlook is very 
encouraging and there are great opportunities for 
work, not only in the town itself, but in the surround- 
ing country, dotted with innumerable hamlets of 
farmers and peasants." 

Work has also been begun in Minamiotsuka and 
Irumagawa, with weekly services, in the afternoon for 
children, and night preachings for adults. There is 
also a monthly meeting for women, conducted by one 
of the ladies. Lectures are given and the difficulties of 
the Faith explained. A Woman's Auxiliary has also 
been formed among the Christian portion of the con- 
gregation, and the place woman fills in the Church, 
and the part necessary for her to take, is made clear. 

Altogether there are few more encouraging parishes, 
or finer, better-equipped staffs in the field, and from 
none may we expect better results. 

KAWAGOE MATSUYAMA 

St. Luke's, Matsuyama,isoneof the missions of Kawa- 
goe under the care of Rev. S. Tai. A resident catechist 
has been at work there for many years, and a great 
many Christians have been sent out from this little 
inland station. It can never become other than a feeder 
for the larger city churches, but this may well warrant 
the keeping of a catechist in a town where the Church 

♦The average attendance in 1907 was over 70. 



74 



THE JAPAN MISSION 



Kawagoe 

Matsu- 

yama 



has been established for twenty years. There is a little 
church there built by the Christians, which serves as 
church, parish house, and Sunday school room all 
combined. People move from such small towns so 
rapidly that the congregation of Christians never seems 
to increase, but the yearly classes of Baptisms and 
Confirmations are proof of the good work going on 
there, and many of the city parishes reap the benefit 
of the hard work done in Matsuyama. 

The Church has a great influence in the town, and 
the catechist has the respect of the whole community. 

SUGAMO : HOLY TRINITY ORPHANAGE AND SCHOOL FOR 

FEEBLE MINDED 

In speaking of the founding of this institution, 
Mr. Ishii says: "In the great earthquake of 1891 which 
devastated the two provinces of Mino and Owari, one 
of the great results of this tremendous natural con- 
vulsion was the production of a number of orphans/' 

Mr. Ishii was at that time a teacher in St. Margaret's 
"Heiamjo Gakko", in Tsukiji, where he had been for 
some time. The dreadful reports circulated by the 
newspapers gave cause for much anxiety. These 
little orphan girls were being bought and trained for 
immoral purposes, and questionable professions. 

The papers among others were adding their influ- 
ence to the power of prevention, and trying to find 
some way to avert such ruin to soul and body of these 
young children suddenly left without parental pro- 
tection. 

Mr. Ishii was inspired with the thought of rescuing 
these orphan girls from the hands of the slave dealer, 
to protect and educate them into Christian woman- 
hood. With this in mind he resigned his position at 
the "Jogakko"* and proceeded immediately to the 
scene of the disaster. All was confusion, and there 
was all the difficulty to be met with incident to such 
a dreadful irruption; besides, his work was solely a 

*Jo means girls; gakko means school. 



TOKYO COUNTRY STATIONS 75 

venture of faith ; as yet there was no preparation and „ 

no beginning. Su S amo 

A number of girls were gathered, and together they 
returned to Tokyo, a house was rented in Take-no- 
gawa, and the Holy Trinity Orphanage had begun. 
From time to time girls were added to the original 
number, until finally it had increased to fifty, as many 
as could be accommodated, and at times a good many 
more than it seemed could be fed and clothed. Six- 
teen years have passed since then; often there has 
been much worry and trouble; but the experiment 
has been a success. 

Among the first girls received was one feeble-minded 
child, and to educate her was a grave problem. But 
the effort to do so drew Mr. Ishii's attention to the 
great number of such unfortunates and the need of 
caring for them. No such school had ever existed 
in Japan, there was no one to turn to for advice, but 
a real study of this particular branch of education 
was an absolute necessity, and with this intention 
and purpose Mr. Ishii twice visited America. Mean- 
while the school had gained a reputation, one after 
another of these feeble-minded ones were sent to him 
until the present number amounts to about thirty. 
Indeed this great need has become so evident that 
gradually this side has been emphasized and become 
the more important part of the work. We know of 
no other such institution in the whole empire, and 
the number of such children is many; so that in the 
future no larger number of normal minded ones will 
be taken than is necessary to train for teachers in the 
school. "This important branch of education is so 
shamefully neglected by my country that I feel I am 
called upon to devote my life to this particular work/' 
says Mr. Ishii, "while of other orphanages to take care 
of those of sound mind there are many." 

Again, the enlargement of the school for the feeble- 
minded gives the other orphan girls a means of self sup- 
port; they may become teachers, or nurses, or both; so 



76 THE JAPAN MISSION 

that the emphasis laid on the education of those feeble 
feugamo oneg j lag p rovec [ i j^ a solution of the question: Has 

such an institution any place among the needs of the 
social life of the people? And the history of its ex- 
istence is emphatic in the positive assertion, that it is of 
great importance and must commend itself to the 
people. Mr. Ishii's plan was to purchase a lot adjoin- 
ing the orphanage and branch out by enlargement of 
the buildings, when something unforeseen and most dis- 
turbing happened which compelled him to change 
his plans completely, and even to move from the place. 
This was the building of the great arsenal of the War 
Department in that neighborhood; and a factory for 
the manufacture for the high explosives was also to 
be built quite close to the orphanage. This was dis- 
concerting and annoying in the extreme. He there- 
fore abandoned the idea of buying the adjoining 
property, and, though considerable expense was 
involved, moved to the present site in April of 1906. 

There are now on the property bought in Sugamo 
a dormitory for girls, chapel, school-house, dining 
room, office ; and a dormitory for boys and a hospital 
are also near. The old buildings had been moved, 
and remodelled on much better plans than those of 
the old days. When these new buildings are com- 
pleted and equipped, there will be accommodation 
for seventy feeble-minded children, which means 
a great stride towards self support. This would also 
mean more inmates admitted to the regular orphanage. 

At present (1907) there are about forty in that de- 
partment, fourteen of whom are working in the school 
for the feeble-minded; but as this school grows, the de- 
mand for more teachers, nurses, and assistants will be- 
come greater, and because of the school this branch also 
can be increased. 

There is at present in connection with the orphanage 
a school having a six-year primary course, a five-year 
middle school, and a two-year training in the education 
of feeble-minded children. 



TOKYO COUNTRY STATIONS 77 

Mr. Ishii says, "For carrying on my work I have « 
constantly received warm sympathy and generous u Samo 
aid from friends at home and especially in America. 
I do not see how I could have carried on my work 
under so many difficulties without such kind friends." 
No nobler work exists than this in all Japan, and 
there are few needs greater. One is often surprised 
at the great number of feeble-minded persons to be 
met almost everywhere. We are of the opinion that 
this is abnormal in Japan. Certainly it is a question 
for the phychologist, and an important one. From 
the days of Aristotle till now scientists have been at- 
tempting to explain the significance of mind and will; 
what are the mutual functions, and how they might 
be controlled, improved, etc.; but here is a study 
scarcely more than touched though it offers a wide 
field for investigation and research. Mr. Ishii is doing 
much to solve it in a practical way and by personal 
contact and experience. 

Besides all this, these children under his care are 
being taught the Christian faith and each year there 
have been enrolled among the Church's children a 
fair percentage of the inmates of this home. Mr. Ishii 
and his attractive and most estimable wife are among 
the very salt of the earth. She was Miss Watanabe, 
daughter of Baron Watanabe of the Emperor's House- 
hold, well known in America as the very capable head 
of the Bancho "Young Ladies' Institute," since aban- 
doned. This school and institution should have the 
support of all charitably-minded people for that work 
alone, but also because it is a Christian institution, 
owned and ordered by Christian people whose aim 
and object is to teach those little ones in the right way 
and enroll them among the children of Christ's flock 
in His Church. 

Since writing the above we have had the privilege 
of visiting the institution and of seeing and judging 
at first hand what is being done. Mr. Ishii was ex- 
pecting us and was waiting to show us over the school. 



78 THE JAPAN MISSION 

The children are separated according to mental con- 
ugamo ditions and ability to understand. Each child has a 
separate teacher as guardian at hand to assist in 
teaching the pupil to control and exercise the senses. 

Here is a little feeble child trying unsuccessfully 
to run a pencil along a groove in a straight stick, but 
he finds it too difficult, for the pencil constantly goes 
off at an angle. On another form is one trying to 
drop square blocks of wood of various sizes into holes 
made to fit them, but he also finds it too hard and 
screams in his rage at finding he cannot do it. Here 
is a revolving wheel on which various colors are painted 
to test the sense of sight, another for the nerves; and 
so it goes ; and all this time the teacher is gently con- 
trolling the child and teaching it patience. Never a 
cross word, never an unkind word, never an impatient 
movement. It was a lesson of love and kindness to 
us which we wish many more could see and under- 
stand. 

All the machines for testing, etc., used in the school 
have been made by Mr. Ishii himself. In the upper 
grades of the school are those who have been cured, 
or almost so, and the look of intelligence on the faces, 
the pleasant smile and bow to visitors, gave evidence 
of their changed condition. Some had been nearly 
complete idiots when taken to the school, others 
epileptics of the worst form, but now well or almost so. 
We confess to going around for some days with a lump 
in our throat as we thought of those little souls and 
of the faithful kind soul who has given his life to shed 
some ray of light and knowledge into those of others. 
Mr. Ishii has been mother and father in one to those 
orphans; he has gone hungry himself to feed them, 
and scantily clad to clothe them comfortably. 

Thank God those days are past; the Church will 
allow that no more, we are quite sure. They are God's 
children, remember, and " whosoever giveth a cup 
of cold water to one such shall in no wise lose his 
reward." 



TOKYO COUNTRY STATIONS 79 

URAWA 

Urawa is a pretty town about fifty miles from Tokyo 
on the main line to Sendai and the north. It is a pity 
that so few of our Clergy and Church people from home 
stop off on their way to Nikko to see some of our small 
parishes dotted along the road. 

The Mission at Urawa was begun about ten years 
ago by the Rev. A. Lloyd, then President of St. Paul's 
College, Tokyo. Mr. Lloyd is a remarkable man, 
wonderful in many ways, and the money he expended 
year after year in mission work was entirely unknown 
except to those who profited by his bounty, until his 
resignation from the mission staff. He was followed 
by the Rev. Charles F. Sweet, Professor of Theology 
in the Divinity School, Tokyo, as Priest in charge, and 
the Rev. W. H. Smart, Deacon, now of Fukushima, 
was sent to take up his residence. With this com- 
bination the work, good though it had previously 
been, increased steadily each year. Mr. Sweet went 
out for Sunday services, and at other times when pos- 
sible. There was no church in those days but only 
an old tumbled-down place which, by constant patch- 
ing, had been made to do duty for some years ; it soon 
became evident that this old shack could no longer 
be used for services, and a movement was set on foot 
to build a new church building. In this Mr. Smart 
was assisted by many of his friends both at home and 
in Japan, and the end of the year saw a pretty little 
church erected in Urawa. Those whose privilege it 
was to attend services there still speak of the reverence 
and order, and the plain-song services so beautifully 
rendered. 

The first three years witnessed thirty-six adult 
baptisms, and a few more confirmations. Mr. Smart 
was most successful also in putting the Church on a 
friendly footing with the official class of the city. Mr. 
Smart was removed to Fukushima two years ago, but 
a native catechist was installed in his place. The 
church is the only Christian building in the city. 



80 THE JAPAN MISSION 



MAEBASHI 



This mission was begun by the Rev. H. S. Jeffreys 
eighteen or nineteen years ago, when he was an English 
teacher in the Maebashi Middle School. He had 
opened Bible classes for those of his students who cared 
to study the Bible, and these grew so popular and gave 
such promise that he finally decided to hold service 
and ' 'preach to the people" who came to his house. 

Numbers increased, and St. Matthias' mission was 
started and thrived to the extent that when Mr. 
Jeffreys left the school there, the Bishop sent the 
Rev. J. L. Patton to take up regular work in the town. 
Things were not easy in Japan in those days, and al- 
most any excuse was sufficient to make trouble for the 
Church. Mr. Patton's dog, it is said, bit somebody, 
and the feeling grew so intense that it was thought 
wise to move him. The Rev. J. Ambler succeeded him, 
but at that period the Irvingite doctrines were in the 
air in Japan, and he embraced them. 

The Rev. I. Dooman followed, and soon after him 
the Rev. James Chappell, under whose vigilant care 
the work took an upward turn, a new life seemed to 
spring up among the people, the seed took root, grew, 
and thrived. Land was bought, with a house for the 
foreign Priest, and a new church built. Mr. Chappell 
stayed there five years and, when he left for his fur- 
lough his place was filled by the Rev. Charles H. 
Evans, the present incumbent. This fine work is still 
being vigorously prosecuted, and it would seem to 
possess a life and prosperity never before known; 
though he feels, as most men do in the mission field, 
that there is much to be desired. Mr. Evans has the 
assistance of his very efficient wife, and also of Miss 
Clara Neely, and Mr. S. J. Kitazawa, his catechist. 
No work needs a finer staff, and this has been called the 
"Banner Mission." They well deserved the credit of 
noble work done, and desires accomplished for the 
cause of sound Church teaching in Maebashi. The 
writer, after four years of labor with Mr. Evans' 







S. J. KTTAZAWA 



TOKYO COUNTRY STATIONS 81 

present catechist, wishes to place on record his appre- 
ciation of the noble life and work of this good man. Maebashi 
One needs no truer friend or gentler companion; he is 
second to none in the Nippon Sei Ko Kwai, as a trust- 
worthy and conscientious catechist. 

Mr. Evans says the great difficulty in Maebashi is 
the extreme indifference to religion of any kind; it is 
an irreligious community, and temples are neglected 
and allowed to fall into decay. The sound of the 
morning drum calling men to the meeting with the 
gods, falls on unheeding ears; people are too busy to 
pray, materialism has swept the country and province. 

Then again life is a serious problem in this district; 
there are no great riches, no manufactories or great 
enterprises. Life is a struggle, and actual existence is 
in many cases precarious. There is no time to worship, 
and people will be anxious over the morrow no matter 
what assurance they have of Divine guidance and pro- 
tection. After all it is the old story, by no means con- 
fined to Japan, and when these conditions change the 
millenium will have come. 

This mission, like most others, has a fine Sunday 
school, and the future looks bright for the Church in 
that way. With an enterprise remarkable in Japan, 
Mr. Evans has had a parish paper running for some 
time, which is doing successful work as a medium of 
evangelization. We believe this to be the first of its 
kind in the Church. 

Other religious bodies have done much in this town 
and province, notably the Congregationalists ; Dr. 
Nijima, the Apostle of Congregationalism, came from 
this province. Much of their work is self-supporting. 
The future is bright and hopeful; the past year (1906) 
many young business men were gathered in, and the 
infusion of new blood has worked wonders. 

During the past year also certain afternoons have 
been devoted to classes in English for the police. 
These are men specially selected by the Chief of Police 
because of exceptionally good character perhaps or 



82 THE JAPAN MISSION 

advance in police science, and a two or three year 
MaebasHi course } n English is the reward. This year five men 
were baptized from this class; and not only this, but 
the kindness and courtesy of the police department 
have done much for the Church, besides placing the 
workers on very pleasant terms with a class of officials 
whose influence is enormous for good. 

The out-stations of Maebashi are Takasaki,Kumagaya, 
Tamamura, with Myogi and Torii where live a few 
scattered Christians, and to whom the Priest in charge 
ministers as often as possible. 

TAKASAKI 

This is a garrisoned town of about the size of Maeba- 
shi, and an important railway center. There is a 
catechist stationed there, and the work is over twelve 
years established. Commercially, this town is more 
important than Maebashi, and the aggressive and pro- 
gressive character of the people is in striking contrast to 
many of the other towns. 

For a short period Miss Wall lived in Takasaki, but 
with this exception no other foreigners have lived there. 
The Catechist is a good, hard-working man, and doing 
his best, but there is no church building there; and 
working in a Kogisho, under the most favorable cir- 
cumstances, is not always conducive to good results. 
Such an important place ought to have a foreign Priest. 
The people are rough and in a way coarse, but very 
kind-hearted and hospitable, and to know them is 
most important for the Church in that province. If 
a foreigner could live there for a short while only, it 
would give the work a great impetus. 

Mr. Evans has given Sunday afternoon lectures on 
moral and religious questions for the purpose of draw- 
ing the younger men of the place. His expectations 
have been fully realized; not only young men of the 
town, but also soldiers from the garrison have attended, 
and even many of the older people have been attracted 
by his teaching and much good has resulted. The 



TOKYO COUNTRY STATIONS 83 

chief object for which they were intended, that of 
getting to know the people, has been accomplished. Takasakl 
This is in many instances of more importance than a 
knowledge of the language. Once the people can be 
known and understood, the work becomes fairly easy of 
solution. With a church building this would be a 
promising field, and it is to be hoped Mr. Evans may 
be given a church for his Takasaki people. 

KUMAGAYA 

Kumagaya is about two hours' ride from Maebashi, Kumasava 
and is a nice compact town of about 15,000 persons, 
in which a fine work is being done amid fine prospects. 
A disagreeable discussion a year ago impaired that 
real harmony for which the work was noted. Mr. 
Evans, however, has gone in among his people, dis- 
covered the sore spots, and hopes to heal them in a 
little while. The new church will be a great factor 
in assisting a settlement, and this parish's life will 
go on as before. Baptism and Confirmation classes 
have always been large here, and the Priest feels that 
there is reason for supposing that they will not fall 
below those of former years. 

This is by no means a wealthy town, nor are the 
business prospects above normal; yet the Church has 
grown and advanced, where others have gone down. 
The present catechist, Kuwada San is one of the best 
men in the field, earnest, faithful, zealous, consecrated. 
It is to be hoped that Mr. Evans can long retain the 
services of such a man, under whom the future of 
almost any church is secure. 

TAMAMURA 

Some years ago an article appeared in the " Spirit 
of Missions," under the caption, "People who had a 
mind to work;" it was written of Tamamura. The 
Christians were not possessed of many of this world's 
goods, but they desired a church in which to worship 
God, and set themselves to work and built one. 



84 THE JAPAN MISSION 

It isn't Gothic or Norman or of any other style famous 
Tamamura ^ n arcn itecture ; no " chimes sound forth from its as- 
cending spires or music swells the breeze." It is 
purely local in its design and fashion, and "lest we 
forget" "great oaks from little acorns grow;" and we 
doubt not the earnest prayers and praises which have 
ascended before the throne of the Eternal Father 
have been as acceptable as any which go up to Him. 
The work has been slow there for many years, but 
signs are plenty to show that this slow pace is not the 
advance of decay. This is only one among many of 
the smaller towns which seem to languish for awhile 
and then break out and burn with a glow and fierce- 
ness never seen before. 

Myogi, with a few scattered Christians, and Yorii, 
are visited occasionally, to administer to the flock and 
give such spiritual encouragement and assistance to 
those who live there as is possible in short visits. 

UTSUNOMIYA 

The first beginning of work in Utsunomiya more 
than sixteen years ago was made by the Japan Mission- 
ary Society. But after a few years, in which some 
difficulty was experienced, it was turned over to the 
American Mission, and a regular catechist installed. 
For three years work went on steadily, and it seemed 
as if much was being done, when suddenly all the 
Christians moved away from the city. The catechist 
became discouraged, and under these new conditions 
many other places became of much more importance. 
The catechist was removed and the first period of the 
Church's work closed. Four years later the Church, 
having a man to spare, again opened the work there, 
but after a year the catechist resigned his position, 
and once more the place was abandoned. 

About three years ago, Rev. K. Ban, a Priest, was 
sent to Utsunomiya and since that time the work has 
gone on steadily. Mr. Ban found two families of 
Church people, and this nucleus furnished plenty to 



TOKYO COUNTRY STATIONS 85 

occupy him. It says much for this beginning that 
from each of these families, one man went to the 
Divinity School in Tokyo to study for holy orders; 
certainly a worthy offering. Mr Ban found many 
children who had learnt something of Christianity, 
and through these gained entrance to the homes, with 
the result that some of the families became converts. 

Some also came from the Methodists, studied and 
were confirmed that year on the Bishop's first visit. 
For all such people who have been baptized with an 
insufficient knowledge of what the Church of God is 
and teaches, Mr. Ban opened special classes. They 
still continue and much is expected from them. 

The present congregation numbers ten communi- 
cants, several baptized and preparing for Confirmation, 
with twenty-two children in the Sunday school, all 
of whom it is hoped will bring their parents to the 
church. 

This town is one of the finest on the railroad to Sen- 
dai, and it is the junction for Nikko; many will remem- 
ber it well. It is a busy thriving town, very pro- 
gressive, and has very little Christian work in it thus 
far. The future however looks bright and secure. 
Mr. Ban deserves great credit for the patience and 
success of the past few years. 

NIKKO 

Who could write up Nikko and do it justice? Who 
could describe its natural beauties, waterfalls, temples 
and works of art, and come even near the truth? 

The Japanese have a saying: — "Don't say Kekko 
(beautiful) till you have seen Nikko." No traveller 
would think of leaving Japan till he had paid it a visit 
and no one could say he had seen the "gem" of the 
Empire unless he had seen this. This is no place to 
write any description of this famous town, and almost 
everyone who has visited Nikko or read of it, is fam- 
iliar with the stories of the Saints Kobo Daishi and 
Shodo Shonin and the miracles performed through 



Utsuno- 
miya 



Nikko 



86 THE JAPAN MISSION 

their prayers. Mr. Mitford says: "It is difficult to do 
justice to its beauty in words. I have the memory 
before me of a place green in winter and cool in summer; 
of peaceful cloisters, of the fragrance of incense, of 
the subdued chant of richly robed priests, and the 
music of bells; of rich designs, harmonious colors, and 
rich gilding. The hum of the city outside is unheard 
here." 

The shrine of Ieyasu Tokugawa, first Shogun, is per- 
haps the finest in Japan, and among the finest in the 
East, and has to be seen to be properly appreciated. 
Ascending the fine stone steps between two tall rows 
of cryptomeria, through the stone torii, and past the 
five-story pagoda on which are painted the twelve 
signs of the zodiac, one enters the courtyard in which 
are kept the utensils of war, ceremonial dress, etc., 
of Ieyasu, as well as the religious vestments worn dur- 
ing the services in his honor, and the sacred white 
pony for the spirit of the departed to ride. One as- 
cends a flight of stone steps and enters the exquisite 
"Yomei Mon," with the pattern on the pillar purposely 
carved upside down, lest the perfection of the whole 
should incite the fury of the Gods, and bring misfor- 
tune on the House of Tokugawa. 

To reach his tomb one has to ascend two hundred 
stone steps to a hill behind the oratory, and there one 
finds the tomb, shaped like a small pagoda, made of 
bronze, and of a peculiarly beautiful shade of color 
produced by an admixture of gold. Certainly a more 
beautiful, peaceful, quiet spot no one could desire. It 
is a place in which one will pause to muse over the 
grandeur of the nature and works of God, and one's 
own littleness, as well as to breathe a prayer that the 
light unknown to him in this world of trouble and 
sorrow may be granted to the soul of that great man 
in the place to which he has gone. 

And just at the foot of the hill and in sight of this 
mausoleum is the little "Church of the Transfigura- 
tion, " built by Bishop McKim about six years ago as 



TOKYO COUNTRY STATIONS 87 

a summer chapel for foreign visitors and Japanese 
alike. Each Sunday and Holy day the Communion Nlkk0 
was and is here celebrated and the prayers and praises 
for blessings received and hopes for the future are acts 
of " special intention." 

The native Christians during the first couple of years 
were confined to the summer guests, servants, etc. 
But during the past year Rev. Mr. Ban has had con- 
stant work there, and the result is that a little band of 
Christians numbering about twenty have been gathered 
and an independent work which they themselves sup- 
port has been commenced. 

A preaching place was rented in the village and on 
Sundays and other evenings special preaching and 
teaching services were conducted for those who cared 
to listen. Holy Eucharist and Matins were still held 
in the church in the upper village (Ire-machi), but 
which was too far to attract others than those already 
interested in Christianity. 

These morning services, however, have always been 
well attended and have done much to make the Church 
known in Nikko. Before this church was built, little 
could be done among the people. After its building 
the Bishop put the services during the summer under 
the charge of Rev. H. S. Jeffreys one year, Rev. R. W. 
Andrews another, and Rev. E. R. Woodman another, 
during their summer vacation. But little more than 
conducting services and teaching Sunday School could 
be done during the short time. Some discoveries were 
made however, and one or two old Christians who 
knew nothing of those services were "routed out," 
people who have since done yeoman service for the 
Church. During the summer of 1906, the Bishop sent 
a young student from the Training School for catechists 
to assist Mr. Ban in this work. Something was also 
done by the foreigners there, and the result was a class 
of five persons for Confirmation. It was most encourag- 
ing, especially as the work has been settled for good, 
and will continue to be ministered to by Mr. Ban. 



Nikko 



88 THE JAPAN MISSION 

Last summer (1906) one of the Christians, a well known 
curio dealer, opened his house for services and invited 
his friends to be present. Much is looked for in the 
future from this work. 

Now, here is a fact worth relating. The present site 
of the "Transfiguration" is property owned by the 
descendants of Prince Tokugawa Ieyasu, who published 
the strong edict against Christianity which stood till 
1870, in which he refused to allow the Christians a foot 
of soil in the whole empire, and from his resting place 
among the hills and beauties of Nikko, one can almost 
look down on the roof of this little church of God. 
Truly this is a world of change, but how truly the words 
of our Lord and Master come to pass, "The gates of 
hell shall not prevail against it." 

MITO 

Mito is a fine town of some 40,000 people on the 
Kai-gan railroad from Tokyo to Sendai. Clean, wide 
streets are a feature of this city, "built on a hill," so 
uncommon in Japan. 

Mito is also noted for its plum park, said to be the 
finest in the Empire, and in which Prince Tokugawa 
Rikko built his "Besso"* in his declining years, laying 
aside the reins of political power to rest from his labors. 
No more noted family exists in the Empire than the 
Tokugawa, stern and unbending, conservative and 
proud; but they were people known for honesty and 
truthfulness, and to make an enemy was to make one 
who was worthy the name, who fought fair and hard 
and never struck in the back. Such men are still there, 
an honor to themselves and their country. 

Few towns have had a more stirring history; ever 
noted as being conservative, it was also anti-foreign 
and anti-religious. When the news of Commodore 
Perry's arrival in Japan reached Mito the wildest con- 
fusion, it is said, prevailed. Preparations were at once 
begun to expel the intruders from the coast. 

* Besso. Lodge 



TOKYO COUNTRY STATIONS 89 

Temples were rifled of their ornaments, bronzes, bells; 
lanterns, etc., to make into cannon for this purpose. 
The great cannon and drum still stand in the Gongen 
temple near the park, an evidence of a hostility as 
puerile as it was unwise. Mito seems at one period to 
have been the meeting place for the malcontents of 
the north, and during the wars of the restoration it 
was said to "Conquer Mito was to end the rebellion." 
Firmly these brave Samurai stood for what they con- 
sidered the honor and welfare of their country, and 
following the example of their Lord defied imperial 
commands. When they could no longer resist im- 
perial troops, they shut themselves in their castle, and 
fought and died to the last man. To-day only one 
small town remains to mark what was once the strong- 
hold of the Shogun's government. 

For some years the Bishop had felt the necessity of 
opening Mito, first because in itself it was important, 
and secondly, as a strategic point from which to work 
that vast territory between Tokyo and Sendai on the 
Kaigan Railroad. But lack of men and difficulty of 
access — the railroad was not opened till 1899 — made 
it impossible. Towards the end of that year the Rev. 
R. W. Andrews, then only a few months in the country, 
was moved to Mito to attempt this work. At first a 
catechist was installed to search for ground and house 
in which to domicile the foreigner, and for Church pur- 
poses. The Board of Missions made a grant of money 
for ground and house, but nearly a year had elapsed 
before this could be obtained. People did not care to 
have foreigners among them, and still less for their 
religion. Finally, through the good offices of a lawyer 
there, land was bought and a house erected, into which 
the Priest and his family moved. Work was slow, dis- 
heartening, and discouraging; services were conducted 
in a couple of small rooms in the downstairs part of 
the house, and an altar erected; but the services were 
poorly attended, — almost no one came. 

There seemed to be little to do but live in faith and 



90 THE JAPAN MISSION 

hope; no one would even know the foreigner, or cared 
M to to sell him food; houses were closed to him, and his 

social advances were treated with profound indiffer- 
ence. Those were truly dark days, and though the 
clouds were breaking he could not perceive it. An 
English night school had been opened for young men, 
and of these came the first convert, baptized at Christ- 
mas of that year. 

This seemed to be a turning point in the life of the 
mission; services became better attended and friends 
increased. During the second year six were baptized 
and confirmed, and the Priest now felt in a position to 
open an out-station. 

The work done among the children opened up a great 
field for missionary enterprise, though at first this was 
exceedingly difficult. The Sunday School was a 
religious institution, and to be carefully avoided; 
hence some other plan must be invented. 

Mrs. Andrews began a knitting class and once a 
week some twenty or thirty children gathered around 
her for such simple instruction as was possible. A 
woman worker had been sent and each day gave a 
simple instruction; a lesson in the life of Christ, the 
Saints, or about the Church, was given as the children 
were "able to bear it." This was destined to bear 
much fruit in due time. How slow it was! 

When war was declared with Russia some doubts 
and fears were entertained for the work of the Church, 
especially as the mission had been dedicated to St. 
Peter, and there were some who were anxious to im- 
press on the authorities a connection between St. Peter 
and St. Petersburg. The fears were groundless; the 
Church had been too well established, and the mission- 
ary was in no way molested or interfered with in his 
work. 

An appeal had been made to the Church at home 
for funds to erect a church, which was completed in 
1905. The name was however changed from St. Peter's 
to St. Stephen's. 



TOKYO COUNTRY STATIONS 91 

Mr. Andrews was given his furlough, and the Rev. 
James Chappell sent to fill his place. Under him the 
work progressed rapidly, and with the present plant 
and staff, this mission promises to be one of the great- 
est centers of work in the diocese. 

Mr. ChappelPs Bible classes often number as many 
as fifty in an afternoon and tax the capacity of his 
parish house. These are not students but young men 
from the post office, Kencho* and business houses. A 
foreign lady worker is also there now, and with Mrs. 
Chappell much more work than ever before is being 
done among the women and girls. 

The work of the Church is becoming widely known 
through the earnest exertions of the incumbent in 
various ways. When the Church was being built, the 
carpenters expected when the roof was put on that 
according to the usual custom in Japan they would be 
treated to beer or sake by the owner. Mr. Chappell ex- 
plained the Church's opposition to such a custom, but 
at the same time spread before the carpenters a good 
repast of "tofu"^ and u udon, ,, % much to their delight. 
The effect was marked in that the contractor became 
interested, and some time after became a Christian. 

Mito is also the great educational center of the 
province, with nearly 5,000 students in all the schools. 
The Church's work is primarily among the families to 
build up a parish and ground work, hence only a fringe 
of these young people can be touched; but even this 
has a large influence on the whole province, and a man 
more fitted for the work could not be found. 

TSUCHIURA (MITO) 

Tsuchiura was opened by the Priest of Mito in 1901 
with the assistance of the faithful catechist who 
traveled with him in the early days. Without excep- 
tion Mr. J. S. Kitagawa is a prince among catechists 

♦Kencho. Prefectural office. 

fToFU. Bean curd. JUdon. Macaroni. 



Tsuchiura 



92 THE JAPAN MISSION 

and Christians ; a truer friend no man need wish for in 
this world. 

After a day spent in travelling around, one Christian 
was found who had come from his southern home 
nearly twenty years before, where he had become a 
Christian. There were no services in Tsuchiura, so he 
had not made his religion known, but he was glad to 
receive us ; and for two years Mr. Kondo lent his house, 
and used his great influence for the Church. He was 
post-master, and among those most constant in at- 
tendance were young men from the post office. 

His wife was not yet a Christian, nor his children 
baptized, and this became the first duty, easy in the 
case of the children, but most difficult in the case of 
the wife. It seemed that the little wife couldn't un- 
derstand or believe the simplest truths of our Faith. 
And the day she recited her profession of faith for 
the first time was a spectacle pathetic in the extreme. 

There was much work in those days and scarcely a 
cloud. The first year only one convert was made, 
though crowds attended the preaching services. Often 
the workers turned home with weary hearts. The seed 
seemed to have been sown on good ground, however, 
for the following year thirty persons were baptized. 

One interesting story of this mission ought to have 
a place here. In the Sunday School was a boy of some 
twelve years, always regular in attendance, who 
studied well, and wished for Baptism, but whose father 
was deeply opposed to Christianity, and refused per- 
mission. Although the Priest made many visits on 
the family they had met with no success. The father 
met with an accident shortly after this, and having 
vainly tried his own physicians, was finally induced 
to go to St. Luke's Hospital, Tokyo. Dr. Teusler 
sent him home cured in about a month, and his grati- 
tude was evident. But "if the foreign medicine was 
so good," he was asked, "why should not the foreign 
religion be also?" After some months, during which 
he decided to receive instruction, he became a cate- 



TOKYO COUNTRY STATIONS 93 

chumen, and here a great difficulty presented itself; 
for such a one must promise to worship idols no more, 
and to put all such out of his house. The little image 
of the Hotoke Sama had been on his Butsudan for 
generations, and to remove and destroy it was a severe 
test. He pleaded for it; his ancestors had worshipped 
it for 300 years; when the great earthquake shook 
down the house, the end on which jthe idol stood re- 
mained intact; when the flood and hurricane both 
made havoc of his home, the place where the idol 
stood was secure; its virtue alone saved their lives. 
The missionary promised to keep it for him as a me- 
mento of their friendship. He has it still, but the 
man himself is a faithful follower of the meek and lowly 
Christ. 

Mr. Chappell speaks highly and encouragingly of 
his work in Tsuchiura, and is trying to build a church 
there. The land is so low and floods so frequent that 
the first necessity is to get a site where the Christians 
will not have to swim from their church every few 
months. Such a place has been found and no doubt a 
church will soon be erected. This mission has sent 
two men to the Dendo Kwan School for assistant 
catechists — an excellent record for so few years. A 
resident Deacon is in charge who speaks of the work 
of the Sunday School in glowing terms. Tsuchiura 
has a bright future if only a little assistance can be 
given at this critical time. 

taira (mito) 

About eighty miles from Mito on the line of railroad 
between Mito and Sendai is Taira, a town of about 
12,000, and the birthplace of the once famous Taira 
clan. 

Years ago the Baptist society began work there, but 
dissension and discord, together with the disadvantage 
of less definite doctrine, were sufficient to kill the work. 
When the Priest from Mito first went there, nothing 



Tsuchiura 



94 THE JAPAN MISSION 

but a faint remembrance remained of these zealous 
laira j^ mistaken SO uls. 

People were kind to the Church, but otherwise in- 
different, though many signs were present that at some 
time a Catholic Church had been among them, or some 
one soul had come under its influence. 

It is quite possible of course that Christianity came 
from Sendai during the time of the Jesuits; for Date 
Masamune, one of the early daimyo of Sendai, was a 
Christian, and was also sent by the Jesuits on an em- 
bassy to Rome. The nearness of the two places would 
almost certainly have brought some one to propagate 
the faith. 

However, in a certain house in Tara the missionary 
found a crucifix standing on a shelf between the 
Kamidana and the Butsudan. The husband of the 
house was of the Shinto faith, the wife was a Buddhist. 
Enquiries as to why it was there, elicited a reply char- 
acteristic of the man. "I am a Shintoist and my wife 
a Buddhist. We ask our separate gods for our needs, 
but there are times when they will not respond, and 
then we ask the Christian god, and among the three 
we generally succeed." That man did not become a 
Christian, neither would he sell the crucifix; it had been 
in his family for years, and though he knew nothing of 
its history, no money could buy it. 

Much work, by classes, preaching, and visiting, was 
done, but the results were disheartening, and discour- 
aging. To-day, Mr. Chappell speaks most highly of the 
work, his hopes and desires. In his first year many 
were gathered in, and to-day the nucleus of a fine work 
is already there. 

The success among the railroad station officials has 
been a great feature of this work, and the English 
teacher of the middle school has lent much assistance 
among the students. One may look for a church there 
at no very distant date. 



I 



TOKYO COUNTRY STATIONS 95 

OTA (MITO) 

Mr. Chappell has also begun work at Ota, a town Q ta 
about forty miles from Mi to on the Ota line, but up 
to this time he has been able to do little more than to 
settle his catechist and get the government license to 
open his work ; but this town may also be depended on 
for a good showing before very many years. 

The Greek Church has had work there for some years, 
and the welcome given by these Christians to our 
branch of the Catholic Church was hearty and sincere. 
This town has also a middle school, and much might 
be hoped for from among the Students. 

ONNABAKE (MITO) 

Onnabake is a little farming town about three or onnabake 
four miles from the nearest railroad station. The 
people are simple-hearted, kind, and earnest, and the 
work the Church has done there these many years 
has a wonderful influence on their lives. At least 
seven men, including the present Priest, have from 
time to time been in charge of Onnabake. 

At one time it had a famous temple devoted to 
Phallic worship. The present popular deity is the fox. 

Services are held in the houses of the Christians, and 
sometimes in the school house ; for the teacher and his 
family have become Christians. Each year the number 
of Christians increases, and in a few years no doubt 
this little village will become entirely Christian. Mr 
Sugimoto the Soncho* is one of the most earnest men 
to be found anywhere, and his influence upon the re- 
mainder of the village is very great. 

SENDAI 

Sendai, a town of 90,000 people, and known as the 
capital of the North, is pre-eminently the most impor- 
tant city in the northern Diocese outside of Tokyo. 

The work was begun about fifteen years ago by the 

♦Soncho. Village head. 



96 THE JAPAN MISSION 

« , . Rev. H. S. Jeffreys, and the noble work being done 

there to-day stands as a monument to that faithful 
servant of God. The first great aim and object was 
to become acquainted with the people; to win their 
confidence and put the Church before them in the 
proper light. Two or three preaching places were 
opened, a dispensary, and a night school for poor chil- 
dren, who were compelled to work during the day. 
The Rev. M. Tai, now of Kawagoe, was for a while as- 
sociated in this work, but as the Church gained ground 
and some headway had been made, he was sent back 
again to his old field of labor. Mr. Jeffreys remained 
and did the work alone. Sendai possessed no church 
in those days, but in the grounds of the Priest's dwel- 
ling was a small u mono-oki" or sort of storehouse which 
was rented and fitted up as a church; and almost all 
the work of early days was done there. In the mean- 
while a catechist and woman worker had been sent 
there; Mrs. Jeffreys had begun work and classes among 
the women and girls; the Priest himself among stu- 
dents, policemen, and railway engineers. Every 
"old hand" on the road still asks if we knew "Jeffreys 
San." In a short while the communicants numbered 
forty, and an appeal was made to the Church in the 
United States, sanctioned by the Bishop and Board 
of Missions, for funds to build a church. It was felt, 
and wisely, that the importance of the city and work 
demanded a fine church of brick or stone, and in due 
time it came. 

After seven or eight years, during which Aomori, 
Nihonmatsu and one or two other towns, had been 
opened and the Church planted there. Mr. Jeffreys, 
who had been employed "in the field/' was appointed 
by the Board, and given his vacation. Rev. W. F. 
Madely was sent as locum tenens and carried on the 
work. 

Mr. Jeffreys was not continued on the staff of the 
Mission and Rev. J. K. Ochiai was sent with orders 
to take full charge of the mission and out-stations. 





m 


■ 




f ** 40 
t * 




m 


•'*'*-' ^^^m ^65P Wi^| 



MISS BRISTOWE 



TOKYO COUNTRY STATIONS 97 

Mr. Ochiai is a Western Theological Seminary man, 
and his friends will be pleased to know of the good 
work he has done in Sendai. During his five years 
in Sendai the new church so long hoped for has become 
a reality, and with it new life has sprung into the work. 
It was the gift of the Woman's Auxiliary of America, 
furnished by Mrs. Hibbard of Chicago, to whose muni- 
ficence Japan owes so much. Miss MacRay and 
Miss Bristowe have done faithful work there ; and in 
many ways — financially and otherwise — the Church 
has profited by their liberal aid. The Church has 
had much to contend with, but she has quietly as- 
serted herself and forged ahead, and occupies at present 
a most enviable place in the city. 

When war was declared with Russia and Christian 
work was talked of for Manchuria, Mr. Ochiai at once 
offered himself for the field. It was found however, 
that individual representatives could not be permitted. 
Later, when the Y. M. C. A. received permission from 
the Japanese government to do charitable work among 
the soldiers, Mr. Ochiai was made field secretary, and 
the subsequent success of the work was in a great 
measure due to his indefatigable exertion and diplo- 
matic ability. His position, and no less his work 
there, gave him a greater standing among his own peo- 
ple at home, and one he was not slow in turning to 
good purpose for the Church in Sendai. 

He feels that the Church is undermanned for the 
opportunities offered. Sendai is the great northern 
center, with nearly every grade of school in the Em- 
pire, and soon the new Government University is 
to be begun there, offering still further advantages 
and facilities for work. Some day it is destined to be 
the center of a northern Diocese, and preparations 
for such work are now in order ; all of which in the way 
of preparation and progress is for the Church at home 
to decide. 

The school for women workers in the church is also 
located here under that clever and energetic woman, 



Sendai 



98 THE JAPAN MISSION 

Miss Bristowe; and the great work now being done 
among women and children in the Sunday Schools 
is due in a great measure to the able assistance she, 
and the women being trained by her, are able to ren- 
der the Priest in his work. 

This town is the second division headquarters of 
the Imperial Army, and doubtless has no less than 
20,000 regular soldiers in barracks. Thus far nothing 
more than incidental work has been attempted among 
them, but 10,000 students and 20,000 soldiers, besides 
regular parish activities, ought to afford sufficient 
work to keep one man and two or three women busy. 

Almost every religion under the sun is here at work, 
and the Church's course is between a hostile dissent 
on the one hand, and an indifferent heathenism on 
the other ; truly a most difficult task. 

The Church's opportunity is great here, and every- 
thing possible is being done to take advantage of it; 
but the day of miracles is past and it is impossible 
otherwise to expect "one man to chase a thousand." 
The day will no doubt come when the Church will 
show her strength; till then we must wait and pray. 

The primary importance of the "Bible School for 
women workers" situated in Sendai is that it trains 
women to work specially and particularly among and 
for their own sex, though not for that alone; for the 
work these good women are called upon to do is very 
varied. They are not "Bible readers" in the English 
sense of the word. 

It is a fact that sex appeals to sex, perhaps because 
each understands itself the best, and in a land where 
etiquette plays such an important part in the social 
life and customs of the people, these women are en- 
abled to do a work among their own kind which unless 
such provision was made must forever remain undone. 
They are associated with the foreign woman where 
there is one ; working with her and under her direction ; 
and the work accomplished cannot be measured by 
figures. The direction and control of the activities 



TOKYO COUNTRY STATIONS 99 

of the women workers, both native and foreign, falls 
to the Priest in charge. Classes for women and girls 
are conducted, lectures given, candidates prepared 
to receive their first instructions for Baptism and Con- 
firmation; altar linen prepared, and information of 
valuable character often supplied to the Priest to assist 
him in his parish work. Sunday school and Church 
music when necessary become also part of their duty. 

About five years ago this school was removed from 
Tokyo and placed under Miss Bristowe's direction, in 
Sendai. The course of instruction, which covers two 
years, is all that is necessary, including besides the 
training in parochial work, Old and New Testament 
Exegesis, Elementary Theology, Ethics, Music, Indus- 
trial Work. 

No more useful institution exists in the Sei Ko 
Kwai than this school for the education of women 
workers, and the Church at home is very neglectful 
in that she has not enquired into the place these 
women fill, and given the Bishop a proper staff of 
teachers and a house in which they might live and 
prosecute their studies under fairly favorable condi- 
tions. 

The expansion of the curriculum of the Trinity Di- 
vinity School has necessitated the calling of Mr. Ochiai 
to Tokyo, to teach in that institution, and he has been 
succeeded at Sendai by Rev. A. W. Cooke who was 
just returning from his furlough in the United States 
(1907). 

WAKAMATSU 

If this were a book in which political history was to 
be written, how interesting it would be to write of 
the War of the Restoration and the part played in it 
by the little company of "White Tigers." They were 
boys not yet out of their teens, "men who knew not 
what it was to yield/' and, who, when the limit was 
reached took their own lives rather than submit to a 
system in which they had no confidence, They now 



Sendai 



Wakama- 
tsu 



100 THE JAPAN MISSION 

sleep side by side, seventeen of them, on the beautiful 
mountain side overlooking the dreary town of Waka- 
matsu. 

Yet it must have been a beautiful spot in its palmy 
days, in its choice location and with its fine castle and 
with men at arms and gorgeous retinues filling the 
streets. One thinks of it as Kyoto, or Hiroshima, or 
many other of the beautiful places of Japan. 

The War of the Restoration scattered the better 
class of people, the Samurai and others who took 
sides with the Bakufu, and the result is seen to-day 
in a population of poor people. 

It was to this population that Rev. A. W. Cooke 
was sent in 1902. "I began my work there formally," 
he writes, "with the blessing of the altar to the honor 
of the Holy Trinity and St. Thomas, on Trinity Sun- 
day 1902." Shortly after this the present property 
was bought, and such alterations and repairs made 
as were necessary to make the place habitable when 
Mr. Cooke's family moved in. 

The work of evangelization was not easy, but peo- 
ple seemed at first to be attracted by the novelty 
of the services. Many "who came to scoff remained 
to pray" and St. Thomas' day of that year saw a class 
of five prepared to receive Holy Baptism, and on the 
first Episcopal visit nine were confirmed. Then there 
was a year with no results ; but they were not discour- 
aged, and a good class came up the following year. 
In 1904 the faithful catechist was taken ill with con- 
sumption and died, and for awhile the Priest worked 
on single-handed. 

That same year the house and many of his personal 
effects were destroyed by fire; his family was moved 
to Tokyo, and till his furlough he was much on the 
move, filling the places of men on furlough, and min- 
istering to Wakamatsu in the meanwhile, — a most 
discouraging, heartbreaking work. 

We are convinced however that no work anywhere 
has had finer seed-planting or firmer foundations for 



TOKYO COUNTRY STATIONS 101 

the faith than that of Wakamatsu. To know Mr. 

Cooke and his strong manly attitude towards the a ama " 

Church's teaching, his calm practical common sense su 

in presenting the truth, his unalterable attitude towards 

error in doctrine, is to understand at once why in the 

short time of residence he so endeared himself to 

catechist and people, and his successor we are sure 

will reap the harvest of his noble work. The Rev. W. 

F. Madely is now in charge. 

KORIYAMA 

Koriyama, a town on the main line and the junction 
for Wakamatsu, was opened as a Mission station about Koriyama 
the same time with Wakamatsu. It was most dis- 
couraging. The catechist Kujiraoka San worked there 
for three years with no visible results, and the first 
Baptism was that of a teacher in one of the primary 
schools who had been more or less regular in his attend- 
ance at services and instructions for the three years. 
This seemed to be a turning point, for shortly after 
this five were baptized, and later nine were confirmed.* 
This is a promising mission, and recently the Bishop 
has placed there Miss Babcock who for many years 
worked so successfully in Aomara. The regular work 
now being begun there among the women, and the 
residence of a Priest once more in Wakamatsu, gives 
assurance of the success of this field in the future. 

MIHARU 

The most striking and peculiar feature of this field 
was the growth and development of the mission at 
Miharu. 

About three years ago one Goto Tomohiko went 
there from Tokyo as an employee of the "Tobacco 
Monopoly Bureau" just established by the Govern- 
ment. He had been a catechumen in Tokyo and 
made himself known to Kujiraoka San, the catechist 
in Kariyama, when changing conveyances for Miharu. 

♦Including the five from Miharu, mentioned below. 



102 THE JAPAN MISSION 

As soon as this man got settled in his new home, he 
Mi ru began a class for himself and friends. At this period 
Mr. Cooke visited him and had a fine congregation of 
some twenty-five people at his first service there. 

Goto San was baptized at Christmas, and at the 
Bishop's visit in the Spring, a class of five was ready 
for Confirmation, two others were baptized, and there 
were several catechumens,. A remarkable showing 
truly, but one which demonstrates what faithful work 
will do in a new district. 

The whole district of Wakamatsu and Iwashiro 
Kuni* was, in the minds of most of the Japanese, only 
second to Mito in its conservatism and dislike for any 
advance or change in customs and usages. The old 
saying in reference to malcontents was "All mischief 
was brewed at Mito ; but when it grew too hot for them 
there, they ran to Wakamatsu." This extreme feel- 
ing is abating, in a great measure, and among the 
younger generation is very little in evidence to-day. 
It is for this reason that one looks for the future Church 
to thrive among the younger generation ; it cannot be 
built up among the older ones. 

People are looking now to the material prosperity 
that has swept over the Empire during the past few 
years, and seeking to gain some share therein for 
themselves. The result is a constant change from 
place to place, which will ever make the work in Japan 
difficult to handle. 

The women also of this district are almost inaccess- 
ible, and three or four good women could be kept bnsy 
for many years breaking up prejudice, and teaching 
in various ways the noble position which women have 
yet to fill in Japan, and revealing to them, that higher 
ideal so foreign to their thoughts and lives. Miss 
Babcock will have a great opportunity in this district, 
and among the younger generation of women and 
children much is hoped for in the future. 

*Kuni. Province. 



TOKYO COUNTRY STATIONS 103 

FUKUSHIMA 

Almost midway between Tokyo and Aomori, either 
via Sendai or Akita, is the very important town of 
Fukushima, a large railway centre for the Sendai and 
Akita lines. The work here is twenty years old, and 
was first a station belonging to the English jurisdic- 
tion, before the division into Missionary Districts or the 
formation of the Sei Ko Kwai; with the arrangement 
of these districts it fell under American control. Men 
and women workers have changed with great frequency, 
and to give any proper account of their work would be 
difficult and painful in the extreme. Let it suffice to 
say that among the names found in connection with 
this station at some time or other, are the Rev. Messrs. 
Waller, Lloyd, Jeffreys, Ambler, Chappell, and Ochiai, 
with the present Deacon Rev. W. H. Smart, also the 
Misses Gueppe, Babcock, Bristowe, and MacRay. 

Rev. J. K. Ochiai, until recently Priest in charge, 
speaks most encouragingly of the work of Mr. Smart, 
his assistant. It seems that in the early days a number 
of people came into the Church from one of the prot- 
estant bodies, forming the nucleus for the present fine 
congregation brought together by Mr. Smart. 

Miss Gueppe was there for a while, and the influence 
she exerted over the children seems to have been quite 
remarkable. Among many of the grown people there 
to-day are found some of her pupils who speak of her 
in the highest terms. It is interesting to note the 
classes conducted by this good woman. She taught 
Kencho officials, normal school teachers, telegraph 
clerks, German and English Bible classes, besides vari- 
ous others for women. 

Miss Gueppe is now a Mrs. Pierson and a member of 
the Presbyterian Mission. The present Deacon Mr. 
Smart says it is a place noted for "Sobetsu Kwai" 
that is "farewell meetings," given for friends moving 
away, which in view of the large Baptism and Con- 
firmation classes, explains the smallness of the parish 
roll. 



ma 



104 THE JAPAN MISSION 

During the past two years the change which has 
Fakusnl- been brought about in Fukushima is little less than 
marvellous. Mr. Smart found the Kogisho dirty and 
ill kept, but by proper application of soap and water 
transformed it into a place in which to worship God 
without offense to one's senses. He next gathered 
about him those who were in earnest in their desire to 
become Christians, and began classes for Baptism and 
Confirmation. In a short while a good class was pre- 
sented. 

After a year had passed, he gained the Bishop's 
sanction to raise money for a church and immediately 
set to work for this purpose. With the aid of some 
friends one of the prettiest churches in the whole 
diocese was erected at a cost of $1,500, and furnished 
by friends largely by gifts as memorials. To visit this 
little church and hear its beautiful plain-song service 
is like a breath from other lands, and few, if any, other 
parishes can boast of such a devout, reverent congrega- 
tion. 

Classes among women and girls by Misses MacRay 
and Bristowe of Sendai have done much for the female 
portion of the congregation, but this town needs a 
resident lady worker, who can devote her whole time 
to this town and parish. 

During the past two years there have been forty 
baptisms, 80% of whom are men; this is a record hard 
to beat. It is proposed at some time to build a parish 
house on the lot adjoining the church, where classes, 
Sunday school, etc., can be conducted, besides afford- 
ing facilities for a club where young men may feel free 
to drop in for a friendly chat. Nothing is more im- 
portant than this. 

The Sunday school has grown so that the great diffi- 
culty now is to accommodate the number of children, 
and this offers another reason for such a parish house. 
During the war the need of an orphanage in this sec- 
tion of the field became very apparent; and having some 
money left over from the famine fund, Mr. Smart at 



TOKYO COUNTRY STATIONS 105 

once devoted it to this work. The home is for poor 
and destitute children. The number at present is Fukuslli " 
quite as large as he can be responsible for. It is to be- ma 
come a permanent institution with the Bishop's en- 
dorsement and approval. It is hoped that when this 
comes before the Church at home, such aid will be 
rendered as will ensure freedom from anxiety on the 
part of those responsible for this beginning, besides 
allowing for growth. 

To do this the first consideration is a permanent 
lodging which ought to be purchased at once. No 
greater work could be undertaken for the Church, 
offering better returns. Can the Church do better 
than train the children? And the younger the better. 
The change that comfortable quarters, care, and good 
food have made in those little lads is marvellous. 
One's heart goes out to those desolate little fellows, 
now perhaps for the first time receiving proper care 
and attention and being taught in the way they should 
go. There must be some one at home waiting for just 
this opportunity to endow such an institution to train 
children for the Kingdom of God. 

AOMORI 

Aomori, the most northerly point in the Tokyo 
Diocese, is the centre of all the northern industries. 
The end of the Nippon Tetsudo (Japan Railroad) on 
the one side, and Government line on the other.* It 
is also the terminus of the Nippon Yusen Kwaisha line 
from Hokkaido to all northern points. Commercially 
it is doubtless the most important town north of Sendai. 

It would be difficult to say positively to whom the 
honor of beginning work here belongs, though most 
probably to the Rev. H. S. Jeffreys when at Sendai. 
Miss Suthon worked there many years, and laid good 
foundations among many of both sexes, and her 
" boys' 7 are still to be found there. 

* The Japan Railway has also become government property since the 
above was written. 



Aomori 



106 THE JAPAN MISSION 

An unfortunate and lamentable accident which 
occurred in her house made departure necessary. 
Some unadvised people supposed her to be wealthy, 
and to keep large sums of money in her house. One 
night it was broken into and her servant murdered, 
but the assassin managed to effect escape before being 
caught. Much trouble ensued, but Miss Suthon and 
her household were finally exonerated, and only two 
years ago the murderer confessed the crime on his death 
bed. 

Her work was almost entirely among the younger 
people, and her classes were well attended. These 
classes have been taken up by each successor and 
carried on, and are still a noted feature of the Church's 
work. 

The Rev. James Chappell was the first foreign resi- 
dent Priest. He organized the church and did some 
excellent work during his short term. With him came 
Miss I. P. Mann to take up the woman's work left by 
Miss Suthon. Miss Mann organized an industrial 
school, still in existence and doing a noble work among 
the women of the place. In 1901 her health being 
broken, she was sent home to recuperate. Miss Bab- 
cock followed, and for awhile Miss Wall was associated 
with her. The major portion of Miss Babcock's term 
was spent alone, she being the only foreigner in the 
town. Classes for women and girls, boys and young 
men, were conducted by her with marked success. An 
excellent men's club was formed under Church aus- 
pices, which is still doing good work, and many of the 
fine young men in this congregation were brought in 
through it. 

Of the native incumbents, Revs. Hayakawa, Yam- 
agata, Kobayashi, and the present incumbent, K. 
Suto, were all wholly or in part educated in America. 
Mr. Suto is a quiet, reserved man, a fine preacher and 
pastor, and much loved by his people. There is an 
attractive church and a parish house, well equipped to 
do the Church's work. 



TOKYO COUNTRY STATIONS 107 

During the war this town was the starting point 
for soldiers leaving for the front from northern sta- 
tions. Every advantage was taken, but for some 
reason the work was not very successful. Since the 
end of the war, conditions have changed and become 
normal. The old classes and clubs, depleted in num- 
bers on account of the war, have again filled up, and 
Mr. Suto feels confident of the future of the church. 

Rev. H. St. G. Tucker, now President of St. Paul's 
college, Tokyo, was also in charge of Aomori for a 
short time, while living in Hirosaki, the adjacent sta- 
tion. His name is still spoken of, and the deep inter- 
est he took in the young men of the place. 

Rev. S. H. Cartwright also lived there for awhile 
and did some good work. Present institutions are 
two schools and the Brotherhood of St. Andrew, one 
of the very few places where this last exists now in 
Japan. It is unfortunate that this fine society is not 
stronger here. 

The conditions in the entire northern district which 
includes Aomori, Hirosaki, and Akita, and in which 
there are only two Priests, one native and one foreign, 
make work most difficult. Winter here begins about 
the middle of October, and lasts until about the mid- 
dle of April; and the labor performed by the persons 
on duty is not easily understood by those who are 
fortunate enough to find their lots cast in less rigorous 
climates. Aomori has had excellent men, and they 
have made enviable records for zeal and good works. 
This district however, needs at least five men to do 
the work now being attempted by two, and it is hoped 
that the Church will see to it that they be sent. 

The church is doing an excellent work under Mr. 
Suto. Like most of the parishes, it is also contribut- 
ing towards the Priest's support. 

HACHINOHE 

Hachinohe, a fine town on a branch line of the Nip- 
pon Tetsudo, about forty miles from Aomori, has had 



Aomori 



Hachinohe 



108 THE JAPAN MISSION 

a catechist for many years, and bi-weekly visits from 
Mr. Suto. This out-station has not the rush and impe- 
tus of the northern parish, but in a quiet way is making 
decided progress. It has the credit also of having 
sent one or two young men to the divinity school; 
no mean record for a small mission. The usual work 
of such missions is, besides Sunday and Friday ser- 
vices, Bible classes for students, and classes for the 
further instruction of those already Christians. Those 
classes are as a rule fairly well attended, and the cate- 
chist comes in touch with one or more new people 
each week, which gives new material for work. 

These smaller places send out many people each 
year to the larger towns and villages, and are very 
often the means through which new work is started, 
and new souls brought to a saving knowledge of the 
truth in Christ Jesus. 

AKITA 

Of all the towns on the northwest coast, Akita, the 
capital of the province of the same name, is the largest, 
most thriving, prosperous, and influential city in this 
part of the country. Nearly five years ago when the 
railroad was first completed from Hirosaki, the Rev. 
W. F. Madeley was sent here to open the field for the 
Church. 

Mr. Madeley, during his second year purchased 
land and built a house. Later he also erected a little 
cheap building to do duty for a church, till better 
could be provided. This building has only one ad- 
vantage, that it can be used exclusively for Church 
purposes. 

The work was begun and much was hoped from it 
and is still hoped for. New work is necessarily slow, 
but the present outlook is hopeful. Mrs. Madeley 
was also a kindergartener and anxious to begin work 
of this sort among the children. She did much to 
advertise this work at home, which was finally taken 



TOKYO COUNTRY STATIONS 109 

up by the "Babies' Branch" of the Woman's Auxil- 
iary, and support promised. * a 

Miss Mead, who came to the field only a few months 
before, was assigned to Akita and undertook to begin 
the kindergarten — Mrs. Madeley in the meanwhile 
having gone on a furlough with her husband. In 
September of 1905 the "Gaylor Hart Memorial Kinder- 
garten" was begun in Miss Mead's house, a native 
building rented because of its size and convenience 
to the Church. There it grew and prospered till May 
1906, when the house with all it contained was burnt 
to the ground, Miss Mead, her assistants and servants, 
barely escaping. 

The loss was felt very keenly, but the catechist gave 
his house to the school, and moved to another; so that 
though the quarters were small the work did not stop 
longer than was necessary to provide new working 
materials. 

In September of 1906 the Board of Missions made a 
grant to buy land and erect a school and house for Miss 
Mead. This school has accommodations for about 120 
children, with office, rooms for caretaker, with all 
modern conveniences and improvements. With this 
new plant a new era opens before the school. The 
parents of the children are grateful for what is being 
done, and the Government authorities have been most 
kind in all possible ways. 

The children have opened doors of houses hitherto 
closed to Christianity, and the various societies at 
work in the mission are doing their part to keep the 
interest a living power. Christianity is taught in 
the school, and the effect is already noticeable in many 
directions. Monthly children's services are carried on, 
in which the children are taught the Church's ways, 
and the little minds drawn to hear and understand 
the Master's message for them. The hope of the future 
is in the youth of the present, and to raise up a con- 
gregation of men and women, who shall be devoted 
to the Church, is the aim and object of Priest and 



Akita 



110 THE JAPAN MISSION 

assistant. It is impossible to expect great results from 
the men and women of mature years, whose lives have 
run through different grooves and channels, whose 
religion and education have been one of superstition 
and fear, and whose only idea of a God has been an 
idea associated with some visible object. With the 
youth the case is entirely different. "Give me a child 
till he is ten years old, and any one may have him 
after that," once said a noted teacher, and it is cer- 
tainly true. Given the same conditions, and most of 
us could perhaps say the same. 

However, Akita stands for Catholic truth and doc- 
trine, and there is no uncertain sound about it, and 
the future Church by God's grace is to reap the reward. 
The Priest, however, is waiting for such help as will 
enable him and his assistants to branch out and take 
advantage of the opportunities at hand. More workers 
are needed for this field, one woman and a man to take 
up some of the special work at hand. The city has a 
population of 40,000, in addition to which there are 
about 7,000 soldiers, among whom nothing is being done. 

A great effort has been made to reach the young men 
of the town and also a class of young people past Sun- 
day school age; and who yet might be brought to the 
Church by careful handling. In the first instance the 
priest began a club for young men where current topics 
were discussed with a view to breaking the ice for other 
teachings. This, so far, has been a success, the club 
membership becoming as large as his rooms could ac- 
commodate. Much is hoped for from this club, and 
much will surely be the result. 

The second class of people studies Church music, 
which thus far has been an interesting topic, under the 
care and guidance of the missionary's wife. It is also 
possible in such a study, even in the early stages, to 
teach many things of a Churchly nature which are of 
deep interest to the thoughtful student. These two 
classes alone afford scope for all the work the coming 
year can hold. 



TOKYO COUNTRY STATIONS 111 

The Priest here has the care of Hirosaki and Odate, 
which call for two-thirds of his time and labor. 

HIROSAKI 

This fine town 'neath the shadow of Mount Iwaki is Hirosaki 
at the extreme north of the Tokyo Diocese. It is the 
home of the "Northern division" of the Imperial army, 
with 15,000 soldiers almost always in garrison. 

The dialect of this town and district is so difficult 
that one has to live there some years before he becomes 
inteligible in his speech to the people. The first resi- 
dent Priest was the Rev. F. W. Madely, now some ten 
years ago, and though it has suffered through many 
changes, much progress has been made. Mr. Madeley 
bought a lot on which was an old billiard hall, and con- 
verted the hall into a church, which though occasion- 
ally threatening to fall down on the heads of the wor- 
shippers, and needing to have its roof propped up with 
sticks and posts, or its sides pulled together, has ever 
since done duty as a house of worship. 

Notwithstanding the disadvantages, the church has 
sent out many Christians and a few workers into the 
field, and the prospects at present are as bright as ever 
before. The people of the North are very different 
from those further south, and the need for men who 
understand the people, their customs, manners, and 
dialect, is great, and Hirosaki has supplied its quota. 
Mr. Ono, after fourteen years of faithful service, has 
just been ordained Deacon, a well earned degree, and 
with the added grace much more may be looked for. 

During the war this town was one of the big military 
centres with from thirty to thirty-five thousand soldiers 
always in training. Here truly was a grand opportun- 
ity for work, and it is only fair to say that every ad- 
vantage was taken and everything possible done to 
bring the Church before the soldiery. Miss Mann 
and her assistant became members of the Red Cross 
society and were able to render some valuable aid to 
the stricken families at home, no less than to the 



Hirosaki 



112 THE JAPAN MISSION 

soldiers at the front. For her services during this 
time she received the thanks of the Kencho* and the 
Tokyo medal from the central Government. 

One of the great questions just then was the sup- 
port or assistance to be rendered to the widows and 
families who were left ; and to do this Miss Mann opened 
an industrial school — still in existence — in which she 
taught women how to earn their own living, and paid 
them from the profits made on the work done while 
they were learning. Unless she had been assisted by 
friends in America and England, however, this could 
not have been accomplished. The school has filled 
such a great need that an endowment is much hoped 
for, since this work should not be stopped, at least for 
many years to come. The women receive the Chris- 
tian instruction daily; and the school is run on such 
lines as commend themselves to all, as one might well 
expect who knows anyhing of Miss Mann. The writer, 
under whom she is working, desires as her Priest to 
place on record his appreciation of her faithful ser- 
vices rendered to him in his work in Hirosaki. 

It is hoped that at some time a new church 
may be built on the lot lately purchased and set apart 
for that use, and the old church repaired and made 
into an industrial school. When this is done a new 
future opens up for the Church here, a future in which 
self-support at no distant date is included. A resi- 
dent Priest is greatly needed in this large, thriving, 
busy town; with a new building for the school from 
which so many are baptized and confirmed, a new 
church to attract people, the future of this parish will 
be secure. 

ODATE 

This is rather a small town, on the railway line be- 
tween Akita and Hirosaki, and one of the most promis- 
ing places in this district. There are at present about 
twenty Christians, some of whom came from one of 

♦Kencho means Prefectural Governor. 



TOKYO COUNTRY STATIONS 



113 



Odate 



the sectarian bodies, and with proper teaching have 
become earnest Churchmen. A catechist has been 
working there for a year, and now goes to America 
for further study; a new one takes his place, but work 
always suffers through change. Thus far services 
have been conducted in a rented building, the rent 
of which is paid by the members of the congregation. 

Visits are made by the Priest in charge at stated 
intervals for teaching and priestly ministrations; the 
people are now rejoicing over the prospect of having 
a little building of their own which will serve as chapel 
and catechists' house combined. Classes are conducted 
for the Catechumens and others who attend service, 
and it is hoped much good will result from them in 
the near future. The signs are most hopeful for a 
successful thriving parish with a pastor of its own, and 
no less than this should be the aim for all. 

st. Margaret's school, tokyo 

This school, now one of the best known in the coun- 
try (officially Rikkyo Jo gakko), stands right in the St. Marga- 
shadow of the cathedral. It is the successor of the ret's School 
old girls' school begun at Kudan about 1878 by the Tokyo 
Rev. Mr. Blanchet. It was moved to Tsurugadai, and 
then to its present location in Tsukiji. 

Its first principal was Miss Pittman, now Mrs. 
Gardiner. From the beginning it was a success. For 
many years it was, like most Christian schools, under 
foreign control. Bishop Hare placed it under native 
control, and it has since remained so. In 1902 the 
Mission withdrew its support, but allowed the use of 
the buildings, with nineteen scholarships. It also sup- 
plied three foreign teachers, who besides other duties 
give part of the Christian instruction. Most of the 
candidates for the Bible school for women come from 
this school. Several of the wives of the clergy are 
graduates of this school. Mr. Kobayashi, the present 
head, is one of the best known Priests in the Diocese, 
and is most popular among all classes. He is a graduate 
of Trinity College, Hartford, Conn. 



CHAPTER VIII 

Kyoto Diocese: KyOto 

Trinity Cathedral — St. John's Church — St. Agnes' School — St. 
Mary's Training School for Women — St. Peter's Dispensary 
— St. Mary's Church. 

To visit Japan without seeing Kyoto is like visit- 
ing Russia without seeing Moscow. Almost all the 
charms of Japan are here combined in one. The fine 
temples of the Nishi Hongwanji,* Gion and Chion, 
the celebrated landscape gardens, Kinkakuji and 
Ginkakuji, the fine porcelain potteries and Cloisonne 
factories, are characteristics of the extreme esthetic 
taste of the Japanese. Besides all these, Kyoto is 
unique in its profusion of flowers, cherry blossoms at 
the proper season, peonies, wistaria, iris, or the glor- 
ious red and gold of the autumn leaves. Certainly 
no other city in the Empire is quite so attractive, 
and perhaps this is one of the reasons why the 
people from this province are so intensely loyal; it 
seems to be the acme of right and bliss. "If I forget 
thee, O Jerusalem," is synonymous with the idea in 
the minds of the people. 

Kyoto was the capital of Japan from 794 to 1870 
when, after the wars of the restoration, the Emperor 
moved his court to Tokyo; but the people have great 
pride in the fact that it remained so many years in 
Kyoto. It is spoken of with a reverence and tender- 
ness noticeable in no other instance; its natural 
beauty, its classic features, its well defined boundaries 

♦Nishi: West. The Hongwanji has two divisions, East and West. 




RT. REV. SIDNEY C. PARTRIDGE, D. D. 
Bishop of Kyoto 



KYOTO 115 

make it the pride of the whole Empire. The hills 
which surround the city are lined with beautiful pa- 
godas and temples, and gardens of cherry trees and 
chrysanthemums. 

This district was set apart by the action of the 
General Convention which met in Washington in 1898 
as a separate District. Prior to that date it had been 
part of the Tokyo Diocese and administered by the 
Bishops of that jurisdiction. Dr. Partridge of Wu- 
chang, China, was elected by the meeting of the House 
of Bishops held in St. Louis in 1899 as Missionary 
Bishop of Kyoto, and was consecrated in Tokyo by 
Bishop McKim, assisted by Bishops Graves, Schere- 
chewsky, and the English Bishops in Japan, on the 
2d of February, 1900. Bishop McKim once called 
it the "best Diocese of the six into which the Empire 
is divided/' 

It is written elsewhere that there is no Cathedral in 
this Diocese; there is, however, one of the prettiest 
chapels possible and properly fitted, in the adminis- 
tration building, where daily service is held in English 
for any who care to attend. Some day the Bishop 
hopes to see a Cathedral built in another section of 
the city where it can do a real Cathedral work with a 
proper staff of men, trained in Japanese, to assist 
him, and where proper missionary work may be ac- 
complished without conflicting with any parish al- 
ready established. In time it should become the centre 
for the entire work of the Diocese, and there is no more 
worthy consideration for our wealthy Churchmen at 
home than this. 

Any reference to Kyoto without some mention of 
the venerable Bishop Williams would be incomplete. 
Born in Virginia in 1829 the old gentleman still re- 
mains in active service, full of zeal, and as devoted to 
his work as if only half his actual age. He is truly 
a remarkable man, and goes about to his mission 
stations as though he were but beginning his mission- 
ary labors. Few men could hope ever to occupy the 



116 THE JAPAN MISSION 

place in the hearts of a foreign people that Bishop 
Williams holds in those of the Christians of this Church. 
He is still truly a "Father in God/' and his gentle, 
kindly disposition, his sympathy and patience, his 
years of self-sacrifice have made him a pattern for all. 

For years many of the older Japanese, unaccustomed 
to seeing foreigners, had serious difficulty in deter- 
mining his age. One day while riding in the electric 
tram when they first began in Kyoto, he happened 
to be sitting opposite two obasan (grandmothers), 
who debated aloud the age of the Gwaikokujin (for- 
eigner), supposing him to be ignorant of the language. 

"He must be very old," said the first, "for look at the 
length of his beard; he certainly is an ojisan (grand- 
father)." 

"Nonsense" said the other, "don't you see how 
how short he is? All foreigners have long beards, he 
cannot be more than seventeen." 

The Bishop enjoyed the joke. 

He has been in the field ever since 1866, years before 
many of us were born, — what a life of service for the 
Master. We look back over those forty years; the 
nights and days of travel; the hard uncomfortable 
bed in some little hatagoya, 'neath futon* already used 
by perhaps scores of Japanese, the wind blowing in 
the seams, the stars shining through the cracks in 
the walls; the unpalatable cold rice breakfasts; the 
long midnight hours of teaching when most of the 
hard- worked Clergy at home are enjoying their rest 
in comfortable beds; after all how easy life is in the 
missionary field. 

Truly Dr. Abbott says his "value will not be recog- 
nized until he is taken away. To this work he gave 
his youth, and in it he is likely to remain while life 
and strength last." 

How fitting it would be to the life of this good man 
to build a Cathedral in his memory, and what a pity 
that people should wait until he has passed away before 

♦Futon. A wadded cotton quilt. 



KYOTO 117 

thinking of it. There are at present but three parishes 
in the city of Kyoto and a good Cathedral church with 
a fair staff of men and women workers, such as one 
looks for in a Bishop's church, would have a marked 
influence for good, not only in Kyoto, but over the 
whole field. 

TRINITY CATHEDRAL 

This church is the offspring of Trinity Church, Trinity 
Philadelphia, or at least> it is the gift of one of its Cathedral 
communicants. The fine church building made of 
brick cost $11,000 gold and was the offering of one man. 
Besides being a parish church, it also serves the purpose 
of a chapel for the students of St. Agnes' School. Its 
location on Karasu maru dori is a good one, and has 
enabled it to keep up its fine congregations and do the 
work for which it is intended. School, chapel, and 
parish church is not a good combination, and no doubt 
the church has suffered somewhat in consequence ; yet 
with the oversight of the Bishop it is not too much to 
predict that its usefulness in the future and also its 
evangelistic work will be greater than ever before. 

Kyoto is the home of Buddhism. A city of magni- 
ficent temples, served by men who are influential in 
politics and social life, statesmen of the first rank, and 
who wield a power potent in their cause and far reach- 
ing in effects on the life of the city. Princes have 
occupied the seat of power in the Hongwanji and still 
do occupy, and the Church in Kyoto has to meet and 
do battle with Buddhism at its best. These men are 
scholars and gentlemen, and not easily defeated on 
their own ground; it is absolutely necessary, therefore, 
that the Church be properly equipped so that She may 
show herself at Her best in the struggle for Her cause. 
It becomes the duty of the Church at home to see that 
nothing is lacking for successful parish work, and the 
accomplishment of the same for this parish; it ought 
to lack nothing which would be necessary to meet 
the enemy on even terms. 



118 THE JAPAN MISSION 

The present curate, Rev. Mr. Sone, is a graduate 

cth d ° f the Trinit y Divinit y School, Tokyo, and also did 

Cathedral ^ wo y ears f post-graduate work at the General Sem- 
inary, New York. 

Much has been accomplished during the past, and 
it is not too much to expect a like success in the future. 
This congregation numbers nearly a hundred souls, 
and exerts a great deal of influence over the whole 
city. During the season when the foreign travellers 
visit Kyoto, certain services are conducted at Trinity 
for their benefit, by one of the foreign Clergy. It has 
been regarded by some as the Cathedral, but this is a 
mistake. 

Daily services are conducted here for the pupils of 
St. Agnes' School and last year this church presented 
seventeen candidates for Confirmation. 

Altogether, this work is most encouraging, though 
it too needs the care of a foreign Priest properly to 
meet the demands made upon it. 

st. john's church 

This church was started about fifteen years ago. 
At that time Kyoto was not the quiet peaceful place 
it is to-day, at least as far as the teaching of Chris- 
tianity is concerned, and some of the storms which 
swept over that mission in those early days of times 
wrought great havoc. However, Christianity has al- 
ways had a reputation for plenty of "staying power," 
and this parish is another proof of it. It was situated 
in the immediate quarter of the Buddhist Hongwanji, 
and with this on the one side, and the Doshisha on 
the other, one of the old catechists relates that life 
was one continuous fight. The Buddhists came and 
smashed up the furniture, the Doshisha people per- 
suaded the catechumens to leave a Priest-ridden 
church. Police could do nothing and the owner of 
the rented house in which the services were conducted 
finally asked them to leave. This mission had not 
even a name in those days, but when the present 



KYOTO 119 

Trinity Church was built, it was decided to change 9 

the name of that parish to Trinity and allow this mis- ~~ - 1 i 
sion to become St. John's. Partly because of re- t/hurch 
moval and partly on account of the disreputable 
room used for a church, St. John's has not grown 
very fast; but the fine new brick church which is now 
being built by Bishop Williams, who has the priestly 
over-sight of the work; will give a new life and impetus 
to the parish. 

The Bishop of the Diocese feels that this parish will 
now have a fair chance to prove itself, and in its new 
location much may be expected of it. Until the 
present, that part of the city, though thickly populated, 
has not had much opportunity. The new church will 
carry with it a full plant for work and it cannot but 
exert a large influence on the religious and social life 
of that section of the city. 

Let us hope that among the numbers who visit this 
beautiful city in the future to see the temples, geisha 
girls, and flowers, some will be found who will take 
time to turn aside to this temple erected in His name 
and honor, and ask some blessing upon those who 
minister and those who worship there. 

ST. AGNES' SCHOOL 

St. Agnes' School, with a staff of twenty-two Chris- 
tian teachers and about 230 pupils, is not only the 
finest school of its kind in the South, but one of the 
finest institutions of learning in the Empire. There 
are very few places where the visitor is given more 
consideration or courtesy, or more pains taken to make 
him familiar with what is being done. 

Mr. Tamamura, a well known educator, a finished 
scholar, a Christian gentleman, has during his years 
of service given this school a most enviable reputation, 
a reputation sustained by such wholesome teaching 
that each year the number of applicants has been far 
above the capacity of the school building. 

Officially this school is known as the "Heian Jo 



School 



120 THE JAPAN MISSION 

^ , Gakko." It was begun many years ago in Osaka 
c^u^^f 1168 an( ^ did much good work there also; but because of 
the superior location, nearness to the church, and 
greater facilities for teaching, it was thought advis- 
able to move it to its present position in the see city. 
The work in Kyoto was begun by the Rev. A. Gring, 
now of Maizuru; and the most which can be said for 
the outlook at that time is, that the workers had much 
space and faith, but very little material : six pupils and 
six teachers. 

Education was in its infancy in Japan at that day, 
and very little attention, if any, was paid to female 
advancement or culture. Indeed a certain opposition 
was manifested at first which as time advanced and 
the school proved its efficiency and ability to give 
proper instruction, gradually wore away and finally 
it became so popular that the school at present is taxed 
to its utmost capacity. It is of grammar school 
standard and its diploma to-day admits its graduates 
to all the higher girls' schools in the country. 

The dormitory is also overcrowded, and as one of 
the lady teachers complained, "we are compelled 
to put three girls in a room of 9 x 12 or turn most 
desirable pupils away." Class rooms are built and 
furnished, as in all schools in Japan to-day, in foreign 
style, but the dormitories are in native style; the floor 
is covered with tatami and the pupils sleep on futon. 

Not all of the seventy boarders of course are Chris- 
tian, but the percentage is large and the daily influence 
is very strong. Among the day pupils, many are the 
children of Christian parents, and the yearly classes 
for Baptism and Confirmation from among the pupils 
are always large. The boarders are under obligation 
to attend daily prayers and services in Trinity Church 
close by, which has always served the purpose of a 
school chapel; this is one of the rules under which they 
are admitted to the dormitory; but otherwise there is 
no compulsory religious instruction. 

Like the students of most other schools, the girls 



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KYOTO 121 

have adopted a distinctive costume of their own. , 

During the war, when so many schools were affected ^ gnes 
and attendance dropped off, this school still retained School 
its full complement, and refused seventy, — a pres- 
tige shared by perhaps no other Christian institution. 
Those who were successful however in being admitted 
were of the very best material and did much to com- 
mend themselves and the school to a loyal public. 

Four hundred caps and comfort bags and nine hun- 
dred abdominal bands were made and sent out from 
the school to the soldiers at the front. In 1897 the 
pupils decided to support an orphan in the Osaka home, 
and the good work still goes on. 

When the Alumnae association was formed a few 
years ago and an effort made to gather some statistics 
for record, it was found that 700 had passed through 
this school; not all, of course, were graduates, but had 
been long enough there to have formed a warm personal 
affection for the institution. 

The same clubs, societies, etc., are to be found here 
as in similar schools at home. It is doubtful, how- 
ever, if girls at home have such high ideals as fill the 
hearts of the pupils of St. Agnes'. The uplifting of 
society, the upbuilding and advancement of girls' 
life among their own people, are noble sentiments; 
and those are some of the aspirations of St. Agnes' 
pupils. Who shall say they are not good ? It is safe 
to assert that the intellectual and social grade of the 
pupils is much better in this school to-day than ever 
before; this is a gradual yearly growth and a most 
encouraging sign. There ought at once to be at least 
two new dormitories built, each holding the number 
of the present one. This would create a scope for 
further Christian influence, and ought to double the 
number of converts. 

Mrs. Smith formerly at Wakayama, Miss Sally Peck, 
and Miss Aldrich teach English and give Christian 
instruction in turn. This school is fitting all the girls 
it can be expected to until such time as the Church 



122 THE JAPAN MISSION 

, decides to put more money into dormitories. The 
St. Marys Church an d t he Kyoto District may well be proud 
School of thig i nst i tut i on . 

st. mary's training school for women 

A diocesan institution, and one calling for special 
mention, is St. Mary's School for Women Workers in 
the Church. No work is of more importance than 
that of a"Bible Woman" so called. Indeed it occupies 
a position nearly equal to that of the catechist, in re- 
sponsibility and power for good. 

Bishop Partridge has his women students housed 
under the care of Miss Kimura, near his own residence, 
where teaching and parish work, Church services and 
all else, may be under his own personal supervision 
and efficient leadership. This school was formerly 
in Osaka with Miss Bull ; but with the growing demands 
of Kyoto and its evident need of higher standards of 
learning, requiring a large teaching staff, the Bishop 
removed it to Kyoto. 

I have elsewhere mentioned the work these women 
are called upon to perform, and the same holds good 
in reference to this school also. How much the Church 
owes to these devoted women, can only be understood 
by those in the field. How many unfortunate ones 
have cause to thank God for the courage and strength 
to do right because of the help, assurance, and assist- 
ance of these workers. 

How little this work is understood at home and how 
little appreciated, is evident from the fact that in 
neither Diocese is there a proper house or home provided 
by the Church, and no regular staff of teachers. What 
a wonder the Bishops are able to do anything. 

st. peter's dispensary 

St. Peter's dispensary is at present located in the 
lower and poorer section of Kyoto, but where it can 
best serve the purpose for which missionary hospkals 
are intended. Some day the Bishop hopes it may 



St. Peter's 



KYOTO 123 

become St. Peter's Church Hospital, and though per- 
haps this is far in the future, it is a desire which ought 
at once to be realized. dispensary 

It was begun about two years ago by Dr. L. A. B. 
Street, one of the Kyoto Missionary surgeons, and is 
situated in a small building entirely unfitted for the 
purpose. It ministers not only to our own people, 
but also does a valuable missionary work in relieving 
distress among a vast multitude, who perhaps would 
never become acquainted with the Church were it 
not for such assistance as is rendered in this way. 
Ever since Kyoto became a separate Diocese, it has been 
evident that a medical charity would be an important 
adjunct to the mission plant; and Dr. Street deserves 
both honor and praise for the very efficient and success- 
ful way he has brought it thus far. 

The Governor of Kyoto and the authorities of the 
city, county, and University hosiptals have been most 
kind and sympathetic towards the work and recognize 
the place and need of St. Peter's in the community. 
It would certainly seem that in a city the size of Kyoto 
there should be abundance of work, and the Church 
can well make use of the extra lever and influence such 
an institution exerts. 

In almost every town in Japan there are to be found 
hospitals ; but our Church has only St. Luke's in Tokyo, 
and St. Barnabas' in Osaka; and given the proper 
plant, there is absolutely no reason why St. Peter's 
should not do more for the Church in Kyoto than either. 
The city is much smaller, hospitals fewer and of poorer 
quality, and hence the influence would be much more 
widely felt. 

Dr. Laning of St. Barnabas' well said in speaking 
of hospitals: "If there is a place for them at home, 
where Christianity prevails and churches abound and 
wealth runs riot, why should there not be a great need 
for them in Japan, where real charity is yet so scarce 
and meted out so niggardly and only the very small 
minority are Christians?" Kyoto has no Christian 



124 THE JAPAN MISSION 

hospital and now is the time to establish one and let 
bt. Peter s it grow up ^^ the church. 

Dispensary The Bishop ^shes to raise $50,000 to purchase a 

suitable site on one of the hills overlooking the city 

and to erect thereon a suitable, thoroughly equipped, 

modern institution for medical work. He hopes this 

may commend itself to all lovers of the Church and 

Church institutions. Here surely is an opportunity 

for some generous soul to exercise a privilege which 

perhaps may never again offer. What an opportunity 

for a memorial to some loved one laid away in the 

silent "God's acre." 

And what blessings are in store for the hundreds of 
poor, toiling, pain-ridden, suffering ones, who are to 
find bodily comfort through such ministrations. But 
after all, this is only the least part of the work of a 
Christian hospital in Japan. How many souls sin- 
sick and wearied with the burden of making ends meet 
across the bridges and chasms of life, shall return to 
their homes bringing a knowledge of a Savior's love, 
and His message to those He came to save. 

Hospitals have done and are doing much in Japan, 
but no city offers a wider field for real enterprising 
medical missionary labors than Kyoto. 

st. mary's church 

If anyone doubts the ability of the Church to reach 
the better class of University students, he has simply 
to go to Kyoto, visit this beautiful mission chapel in 
the upstairs part of the Priest's house, and see the class of 
men who attend, and the service, to be entirely satisfied. 

Five years ago St. Mary's had no existence, nor was 
there any work being done by any denomination what- 
ever among the students of the University; to-day one 
of the strongest congregations in that district, number- 
ing nearly a hundred in all, bears witness to what is 
being done. A truly Catholic congregation without 
a real parish or parish church, save the little rooms 
mentioned. 



KYOTO 125 

"At my first service," said Rev. Mr. Cuthbert, "I , 

had one Christian and three unbelievers ; three weeks 5J* M ^ry s 
later I admitted my first Catechumen," and he added, ^ nurcl1 
"God has blessed this work." In two and a half 
years there have been one hundred and nine Catechu- 
mens, twenty-four baptisms and fifty-nine confirmat- 
tions. All this has been done single-handed; no 
native catechist to assist over the hard spots; no 
"past master" in the art oiKosai (Japanese etiquette) 
to smooth over the unintentional acts of rudeness so 
often committed by the uninitiated; no guiding hand 
to steer him clear of the many dangers so common 
during the first years of missionary effort. Truly in- 
deed could he say his work had been blessed. 

Altogether this work has long ago outgrown the 
"upper room," and a church properly equipped is an 
absolute necessity if the work is to be carried on as 
intended. This is especially true now, for the very 
good reason that hitherto no women attended the 
services and no complications seemed likely. During 
the past year, however, the female attendance has be- 
gun and compelled the Priest to formulate new plans. 
In Japan it is the custom to seat women and men 
separately; the custom is as old as the Church, and a 
very good one, and to attempt to disregard it would 
be to blind oneself to the necessities and conditions 
existing. 

Mr. Cuthbert speaks of the great difficulty en- 
countered training students previously baptized in 
protestant denominations; a little knowledge of the 
Bible in most cases seems to be all the teaching 
thought necessary for Baptism and the difficulty of 
properly preparing such Christians for Confirmation 
is always very great. 

Many of the catechumens are drawn from the fine 
Sunday school, a work absolutely unique in that it 
is taught by the young men of the congregation. It 
is thoroughly Churchly in its tone and teaching ; there 
is no uncertain voice here, and to hear some of those 



126 THE JAPAN MISSION 

„, m » little tots during the Catechetical session, is some- 

Churh 7 * thing t0 re i° ice the heart - 

If any one at home thinks strong Church teaching 

out of place in Japan or proper ornate ritual out of 

place in a land whose every movement is an act of 

ritual, let him go to St. Mary's and see in an unbiased 

and dispassionate sense what the Church is capable 

of doing, and let him judge fairly. It was our pleasure 

to celebrate the Holy Communion in this chapel once, 

and the memory of that «beautiful service is still with 

us: the quiet devotion, the profound reverence, the 

real spirit of worship manifested. There could be no 

doubt about the teaching then. 

There is also another side to this work which must 
not be overlooked, — the training school. This is 
intended for men from the University. The Church 
hitherto has had no men of Japanese university edu- 
cation among her clergy and such men are greatly 
needed. At the end of the present school year this 
church is to have the honor of sending two young men 
to the Trinity Divinity School in Tokyo. A nucleus 
truly, but what may we not hope for from such earnest, 
thorough, devout training? 

Rev. Mr. Cuthbert has given himself to this work; 
the students find in him teacher, friend, companion, all 
combined. He is always at their service, always ready 
to help them and encourage them; is it any wonder 
they render him a loyalty as true and devoted as the 
old Samurai rendered to their lord? 

This mission is one of the most promising in the 
Kyoto District, and it merits the prayers of all faith- 
ful Church people of every shade of thought. 



CHAPTER IX 
Kyoto Diocese: Osaka 

Christ Church — St. John's Church — St. John's Church Orphan 
Asylum — St. Paul's Church — Hakuaisha — St. Barnabas' 
Hospital. 

Osaka to-day, with a population of nearly a million 
and rapidly increasing each year, is the most distinctly 
native and certainly the most stirring and progressive 
city in the Empire. It is distinctly a commercial 
town. It is the Chicago of Japan. 

Osaka has one of the finest castles in the country 
built about 1583 and now used as a home for a vast 
army. It has also some fine temples, the Hong- 
wan ji, East and West, the Tennoji, founded about 
600 A. D., in which is the "Indo no Kane" or "Bell of 
Leading," rung so that one of its faithful may lead the 
dead to Paradise. Ikudama no Jinja is dedicated to 
the patron deity of the city. 

A fine river flows through the city, and canals in- 
tersect it also in many directions. Both of these are 
largely used in the hot evenings of summer by boat- 
ing crowds who are enjoying the breeze on the water. 

All day and all night long one hears the scream of 
steam whistle from factory or steam boat; the con- 
stant shouting of the thousands of boatmen who push 
heavily-laden flat-bottomed craft up and down the 
river with long poles against their shoulders; the good 
natured banter or the friendly interchange of greet- 
ings as they pass. 

The Church has been at work in Osaka since 1871, 
when Rev. A. R. Morris began his residence, though our 



Osaka 



128 THE JAPAN MISSION 

work has never gone beyond the three parishes already 
formed, with the hospital and two orphanages. The 
Church was much busier years ago than now. It is 
said that the present diocesan intends opening no 
more new work there, and that he has made an agree- 
ment with the English Bishop to that effect. 
— Of the older workers only Dr. Laning and Miss Leila 
Bull remain, for both Dr. Correll and Miss Laning 
are new additions. To miss either of these first two 
from the Church's work would seem as though we were 
not planted there. For many years Miss Bull taught 
the Bible women of that district single-handed, and 
also assisted in one of the girls' schools under C. M. 
S. auspices. Few women in the field to-day have won 
for themselves quite the place in the affections of a 
people that is held by Miss Bull in Japan. All the 
parishes in Osaka claim her and all receive some part 
of her time. Christ Church Sunday school, St. John's 
Church Orphanage, and the board of directors of the 
Hakuaisha* all receive some portion of her attention. 
Dr. Laning and Miss Bull are a team that almost any 
parish would be proud to number on its list. 

Some day this city is destined to become a separate 
Diocese, and no city offers a wider field for missionary 
work and enterprise. Many of the native Clergy 
already feel that this, rather than Tokyo, ought to be 
first Diocese of the Nippon Sei Ko Kwai. 

CHRIST CHURCH 

The present Christ Church, in what was formerly 
the Concession, or Kawa guchi, is one of the oldest 
Christian congregations in the Empire. 

Rev. A. R. Morris came to Osaka in 1871, and shortly 
after began what was known as St. Timothy's Chapel. 
For many years this served the double purpose of 
house of worship for foreigner and native alike, and 
still later as chapel for the girls' school in the settle- 
ment. Because of some internal dissension, part of 

* Hakuaisha. Widely Loving Society. 




ST. MARY'S MISSION, KYOTO 



Christ 



OSAKA 129 

the congregation split off and formed a separate con- 
gregation known as the Holy Communion, and for 
many years did excellent work as a distinctively native kkurcn 
church, though a little close to St. Timothy's for 
successful evangelization. During the oversight of 
Bishop Hare these two congregations were merged 
and brought together in one under the new name of 
Christ Church. 

Nearly all the foreign Clergy who have lived in Osaka 
have at some period been in charge of this church and 
congregation, and some of the best men among the 
native clergy received their first impressions of the 
faith and received their Baptism in this church. 

About eight years ago the present incumbent Rev. 
Mr. Naide was called to the parish, and the work has 
grown rapidly and has become almost self-supporting, 
with a fine congregation of upwards of a hundred com- 
municants. One of the features of this parish is its 
"cottage meetings" in the houses of the parishioners; 
each one becoming responsible in turn for the bring- 
ing in of new hearers, and advertising the service in 
the neighborhood. 

The system is properly organized and the results 
are most encouraging. The church also supports a 
night school, "Air en Ya Gakko," for children and 
others who cannot attend the primary schools. In 
this way a great deal of personal influence is brought 
to bear upon many of the younger ones, and gradually 
they are brought to Sunday school and church. This 
is a most hopeful parish. 

st. john's church 

This church was begun nearly twenty years ago as 
a mission of St. Timothy's (now Christ Church), by 
one of the foreign Clergy then residing in Osaka. Who- 
ever it was that selected the site showed keen judg- 
ment: no location in Osaka is better for work among 
the business class of people; and the number of finan- 
ciers and others which this church has trained and 



130 THE JAPAN MISSION 

put into use — and which She needs so badly — has 

Ch h * P roved the wisd 0111 of tne choice. 

r One of the earliest workers in the mission was Mr. 

Otsuka, now manager of the Kankai Railway, whose 
zeal and work in those pioneer days gave remarkable 
evidence of the ability to be displayed in later years. 
Parish lines are not very sharply drawn in Japan, so 
this church has ample scope, and opportunity. It is 
only necessary to say that it is in the centre of this 
great busy city, the most distinctively Japanese city 
in the Empire. All about and around it are streets 
and alleys full of busy active life, day and night in 
succession, without cessation or rest from toil. The 
merchant, mechanic, artisan, of every grade and 
variety, are found here; here is his life, his work. He 
sees very little outside this life and cares less for aught 
else. Here in the midst of all this noisy bustle and 
restless beehive activity, is the little church of St. 
John's. It would seem to be out of place there, did 
one not know the difference between the Church and 
the world. One works with the blast of trumpets, 
the other with the "quietness and confidence" which 
ultimately bring success. The congregation is a 
sample of the surroundings; it is a congregation of 
business men, a species difficult to reach anywhere, 
but especially so in Japan. For here Sunday is at 
best but a legal holiday, and the man of business finds 
the same objection to leaving his work on this as any 
other day, and his loss through closing would be a 
serious matter and one to be reckoned with. Touch 
a man's pocket and you touch a vital spot; no other 
part is nearly so sensitive and painful; hence the 
difficulty experienced in gathering large classes in 
this parish. As a rule, however, such people when 
convinced become very strong Christians. Last year 
nine persons were baptized and confirmed from among 
a class of people never touched here before, and 
from a district never worked before; and as the circle 



OSAKA 131 

of influence widens, one may easily expect the number „ , _ . , 
of converts to increase in proportion. " , 

The church and property are entirely free from debt, 
and it is hoped that at no distant date the present 
building, now getting too small, may be moved aside 
and used for a chapel and parish house, and a new 
church, adequate to the requirements of this rapidly 
growing parish, built to take its place. 

Rev. K. Hayakawa is the right man in the right 
place. He was educated in the United States at 
Trinity College, Hartford, Conn., and the Berkeley Di- 
vinity School in Middletown, and is quite equal to 
the demands. He too feels that the war had the effect 
of bringing more enquirers to his church than anything 
else in years, and this result has led to a steady in- 
crease in the congregation. 

The Sunday school of more than one hundred chil- 
dren, while primarily to educate the children of Chris- 
tian parents in the rudiments of the faith, is making a 
noble and successful fight for those of outsiders — only 
about two or three are Christians. The result is that 
the Church's influence is being brought through the 
children, into homes where the Gospel light has never 
before penetrated, and is making converts. This 
church is partly self supporting, and is looking forward 
to the time when it will be an independent parish. 

st. John's church orphan asylum 

A notable feature of this parish is its Orphan Asylum. 
Why is it that the Church is so behind in this great 
work of love and charity? It is the only parish orphan- 
age in existence and is either very little known to the 
Church outside, or else very little cared for. Surely 
its scant support cannot be due to the latter cause. 
The children, boys and girls, are housed together in 
one building, and the necessity for proper separation 
of the sexes requires a wasteful use of valuable space. 
If the building could be used for either sex, double 
the good could be done in half the space. 



132 



THE JAPAN MISSION 



St. John's 
Church 
Orphan 
Asylum 



The original work began in a small building in the 
rear of the church rectory ; but as time passed and the 
need of larger quarters became evident, it also became 
evident that the property on which the building stood 
had so increased in value that, if sold, sufficient money 
would be realized to buy land in a part of the city 
much more desirable for an orphanage, where plenty 
of fresh air and room to play would be available. This 
was done and the children moved. The present build- 
ing was given by a friend of St. John's; it is hoped 
however that at no distant date a second building 
will be given so that the children, boys and girls, may 
be divided, and also to enable Mr. Hayakawa to in- 
crease and enlarge the institution and its sphere of 
influence. A chapel has been fitted for the daily serv- 
ice of the children all of whom are Christians. "Train 
up a child in the way he should go, and when he is 
old he will not depart from it." 

There is no better investment for the future of the 
Church of Japan than institutional work; nothing 
appeals to the heart of man more than the waif, the 
stray, the desolate. Of the children the Saviour said 
"Their angels do always behold the face of my Father 
which is in Heaven." Just think of it, five yen, ($2.50) 
native currency supports a child a month, what an 
opportunity for the philanthropist. 

The asylum is governed by a board of directors and 
a standing committee, of which Miss Bull, so well 
known at home and in Japan, has since its inception 
been one; and it has the hearty sympathy, endorse- 
ment, and blessing of the Bishop of the Diocese. 

st. paul's church 

Does good ever come out of evil? St. Paul's church 
and congregation is the result of a disagreement 
among the worshipers of St. Timothy's which sent 
twelve of the people to seek pastures new and to build 
a church where they could worship according to their 
conscience. 



OSAKA 133 

For many years this church was self-supporting, 
but the location was not of the wisest selection, and jjj" ^ s 
although the church has done much good and very ^ hurcl1 
necessary work, and still has a fair congregation, the 
district is one of the most difficult in the city, and it is 
only a matter of time when the present site must be 
vacated for a better one among a different class of 
people. Osaka, like other cities, has grown rapidly; 
and what was once a residence neighborhood has 
changed to a business section, in this case a wholesale 
business district, which leaves practically no scope 
for evangelisitc work. With an endowment the church 
would be justified in staying for the noon-day work 
it is possible to do ; but endowment is far in the future, 
and the one great difficulty the Sei Ko Kwai has to con- 
tend with. 

The financial question is a serious one, and, with 
the exception of stability in the faith, the most impor- 
tant question which the Church has before Her to- 
day. Before the day of endowments must come 
the day of self-supporting parishes; but every single 
individual parish in both of the two Districts, is still 
very far from self-support at present. 

If, however, St. PauFs church can live through the 
troublous times until the day of endowments arrives, 
she will have done herself great honor and conferred 
lasting good on the Church in Osaka, and in particu- 
lar, on the District in which she is domiciled. Con- 
gregations are fair and the Sunday school attendance 
good; increases are noted yearly, and much is being 
accomplished under the hard working Priest. In 
reality this ought to be called a "down town parish," 
and all city Clergy know well what that means. 

HAKUAISHA 

Among the other institutions of a charitable nature 
in this Diocese is one which calls for mention here, 
the "Hakuaisha", or "Widely Loving Society Orphan- 
age," of Osaka. 



Hakuaisha 



134 THE JAPAN MISSION 

The object of this society is to gather, care for, and 
educate morally and spiritually, orphans and other 
destitute children, to fit and train them for the battle 
of life; and as far as possible to make Christians of 
them. It is purely a charitable institution, and as 
such commends itself to all who are interested in the 
training of waif and stray. 

No more devoted people could be found anywhere 
than Mr. Kobashi and his wife, and Miss Hayashi, 
who are in charge of the orphanage; such people are 
the salt of the earth wherever found, and these are 
doing the work of God in faith and love with all the 
light He has given them. 

This ought not, however, to be confounded with 
the regular Church or diocesan institutions; it has 
the Bishop's sympathy and is also now under Church 
auspices, but not under Church control. It is gov- 
erned by a board of directors, twelve in number, four 
of whom are not members of the Church. At present 
the religious work is carried on by and under the di- 
rection of Dr. Correll, who is authority for the state- 
ment that this institution is now in fact thoroughly 
Churchly in spirit. 

The home was founded by the brother of the present 
director, and was the immediate outcome of the dread- 
ful Gifu earthquake of 1891, when so many thousands 
of people lost their lives. Mr. Kobashi, Sr., was 
attracted to the scene by the dreadful tales of woe 
heard on all sides, and at once saw the great need of 
some asylum for the destitute orphans and others left 
without provision for the future. He at once began 
to formulate plans for what he intended making his 
life work. The work had little more than begun when 
two years later he died. 

He left his undeveloped plans to his brother, the 
present director, who manfully assumed the weight 
and burden. The home was at that time situated in 
Tokyo, but soon it was discovered that the metropo- 
lis was not the place for an orphanage depending 



OSAKA 135 

largely on its own exertions for support; so it was 

moved to its present site on the outskirts of the city ±lakuaisha 

of Osaka. Bishop Williams assisted the manager 

greatly, giving generously in many instances when 

help was most needed. 

During the famine of 1906 this orphanage, with only 
sufficient room to accommodate those already within, 
as a venture of faith took fifty children from the famine 
stricken district for whom no visible means of support 
had been previously provided. 

The children are taught to be as far as possible 
self-sustaining and an industrial system has been intro- 
duced with this object in view. Rope, candles, and 
tooth brushes are made in the home. There is also 
a farm, bought by the director, and now given over 
by him to be worked and used for the benefit of the 
institution. Those who are old enough are taught 
to work the farm and thus become a source of revenue 
to the Orphanage. 

The Japanese have always taken a kindly interest 
in the effort being made for the waifs and strays, and 
are most generous. The work is also well known, un- 
der the name of the " Widely Loving Society," among 
Church people and others in America, who have been 
most generous in contributing scholarships for the 
support of individual pupils. The institution has no 
settled sources of income, other than these here 
named. As a work of love and charity it should ap- 
peal to the sympathy of the public. 

Dr. Correll, now Priest in charge of the religious work, 
speaks very encouragingly and hopefully of the work 
among the children. 

Miss Laning, daughter of Dr. Laning the mission 
doctor, has also recently been given work there, and 
those who know her and the little Sunday school which 
as a child she conducted in the Doctor's house, may be 
assured that all is going well for the cause of Christ 
and the salvation of those little ones so dear to Him. 

The present Diocesan, Dr. Partridge, no less than 



St. 



136 THE JAPAN MISSION 

his predecessors, has often assisted the Orphanage 
9 financially and gives it his blessing. Church orphan- 
Barnabas a g es are altogether too few in Japan. If there be one 
Hospital institution more than another which should demand 

our attention and which is sure of giving returns in 

souls for investment in money, such an one is certainly 

an orphanage. 

ST. BARNABAS' HOSPITAL 

St. Barnabas' hospital has come to be regarded as 
an old landmark of Osaka, and during the twenty- 
five or more years of its existence, has made a reputa- 
tion for charitable and Christian purpose as enviable 
as any institution in the Empire. 

Hospital work goes back only to 1873 when Dr. 
Laning came to Osaka in response to Bishop Wil- 
liams' appeal, to begin this much needed work. Has 
it been a success? No, if you count hospitals by the 
size of the ground they cover or the increased number 
of physicians they employ; but if thousands of suffer- 
ers, who year after year have come and gone cured 
of their physical ailments, or the thousands now doing 
their work in the world, or rejoicing in the Paradise 
of God; if these be any proof of successful effort, lo, 
these many years, then St. Barnabas' efforts cannot 
be surpassed. 

Dr. Laning began his work when Japan had no 
Christian and very few government hospitals. He 
began in a native house in the city, part of which was 
used as a "Kogisho," that is preaching place, and no 
in-patients were received. All work had to be done 
through an interpreter, which proved to be an unsatis- 
factory, and in a few cases a dangerous way of treating 
patients, so he began the study of the language for 
his own benefit and satisfaction, and the results proved 
most gratifying. There was much prejudice in those 
days. The old fashioned medicine man, now almost 
unknown, was still an institution and one to be reck- 
oned with. There was no Christianity to assist in 



-. — ..■■■ 



o 
o 

H 



d 

t- 1 
k} 

F 
O 

< 

i— i 

o 
o 

w 
o 




OSAKA 137 

removing them; that came later and the Doctor him- 
self "had some little part in it." ®*' f 

After a year in this first building, the dispensary Barnabas 
was moved to a larger house, the front step of which Hospital 
served for sometime as a preaching place for Rev. 
A. R. Morris; the upstairs rooms wee fitted for pa- 
tients, though not more than three or four could be 
attended to, and this building did duty until the 
building of the St. Barnabas' in KawaguchL* 

A second dispensary was opened in a distant sec- 
tion of the city, with the intention of making it into 
a school for medical students; but it had finally to be 
abandoned as impracticable. Mr. Quimby however 
held classes and gave lectures on Christianity, but the 
result was far from encouraging. Much disappoint- 
ment was felt in particular over the two "nice boys" 
of the school, whom everyone had expected would 
become Christian. With the closing of the school 
they disapppeared among so many others and it seemed 
that little more than wasted years had resulted. 

Seven years passed away, during which St. Barnabas' 
had been built, new assistants had come, and Mr. 
Quimby had returned to his native heath. One day 
a man called at the hospital and the Doctor discovered 
one of the two "nice boys" of old days. He was now 
a Christian, and had a common cause with the Doctor, 
and together they talked over old times. The second 
"nice boy" had also become a Christian and a doctor, 
and succeeded, as is the custom, to the practice of 
his father, who was a physician. He had by his per- 
sonal life and influence been successful in bringing 
almost his whole village to a knowledge of the truth. 
"My! my!" the Doctor remarked, "what changes 
have taken place since those years!" So they have, 
Doctor. We also have seen some changes. 

The work being done in this hospital cannot be 
reckoned by figures. The Doctor is not only a physi- 
cian but a Christian gentleman whose first thought 

*Kawaguchi. River mouth. A district of Osaka. 



St. 



138 THE JAPAN MISSION 

is for the Church; every person connected with it is 
, a Christian; and an in-patient for any length of time 

Barnabas . fl a i most cer tain to become one. 

Hospita rp]^ g _k a ^ cons -[ s t s f D r Laning, two native doctors, 

several nurses, and a Bible woman who makes the 
hospital patients her special charge. A more efficient, 
capable woman it would be impossible to find. Dur- 
ing the war almost 900 soldiers were treated free, and 
the work of this faithful woman, Kashiuchi San, 
gained for her the name of the "soldiers' mother." 
Many who otherwise would never have known any- 
thing of Christianity became familiar with it there. 
On one occasion a young soldier, badly wounded, 
was brought to the hospital, where it was soon discov- 
ered that he had but a short time to live. This woman 
taught what was possible of the love of Christ and the 
propitiation made for man on the Cross. The man 
died in the faith; and his father, who from time to 
time had listened from the adjoining room, seeing his 
son's death, also came to believe. 

Last year 10,362 patients were treated, of whom 
3,500 were cared for without charge. The doctor's 
plan, and an excellent one, among a people of such 
sturdy independence, is to charge a fee when possible ; 
those who cannot pay are treated free. With the 
exception of the foreign doctor's salary the hospital, 
notwithstanding charity patients, practically pays 
all its expenses. 

It is seldom the Church meets with just such men 
as Dr. Laning, of such sterling qualities, such Chris- 
tian courage, always the Christian missionary. Pro Deo 
et Ecclesia may be truly said of him. It is just such 
phases of his character which has made him so loved 
among all classes, and St. Barnabas' is a household 
name among all grades of society in Osaka. 



CHAPTER X 
Kyoto Diocese: Country Stations 

Wakayama — Marusa and Hashimoto — Nara — Maizura — Miyazu 
— Kaya Valley — Obama — Tsuruga — Fukui — Kanazawa. 

Wakayama is a large town of nearly 70,000 inhabi- 
tants, and is the capital of Kii province. It is some- 
thing of a seaport, at the entrance to the beautiful 
Osaka bay. The fine castle here is one of the few 
left in the Empire unspoiled by modern advancement. 
It is said that one of the ancient daimyo of this place, 
himself a Christian, during one of the great periods of 
persecution gathered the Christians into his castle 
and refused to yield them up to their enemies ; however 
this may be, the name of this great man is still revered 
by all Christians familiar with the history of that age. 
This town has the honor of having given birth to 
some of the finest men in the Japanese Church to-day. 

Work was begun there some time in 1882 by one of 
the men from Osaka. Preaching services were con- 
ducted in theatres or other buildings where large 
crowds could be congregated; but those were troub- 
lous times and services were very often interrupted or 
broken up and not much good seemed to result from 
them. In 1883 a Kogisho* was rented, a cate- 
chist sent to reside there and regular services begun. 
The same year saw the first baptism. Three years 
later the mission had advanced to such a degree that 
a regular parish was established and named the "Holy 
Comforter," and Rev. Mr. Page was put in charge. 

*Kogi8Ho. Preaching place. 



140 THE JAPAN MISSION 

In 1898 Rev. K. Hayakawa was sent to take charge 
Wakaya- f ^q work, and much was done during his short 
ma ministry there. In 1899 Rev. R. W. Andrews was 

also sent to join the staff, and assist Mr. Hayakawa. 
A school for English students was opened and much 
was hoped from this work which promised to be such 
a feeder for the Church. But other places needed 
men so badly that Mr. Andrews was sent North to 
open work at Mito ; and almost immediately after this 
Mr. Hayakawa was called to St. John's Church, Osaka. 
Since then there has been no resident Priest. 

It will be remembered by many that it was here 
that Miss Williamson died; that good woman, whom 
everyone loved, and who in only a short time there 
had endeared herself to the hearts of all the people. 

Miss Williamson had never been able to master the 
language but the work she accomplished was marvel- 
lous, and some of the little stories told of her are very 
amusing. "Now children," she was wont to say, "I 
hope you have all studied your Nichiyo Gakko Sunday- 
school lesson. " To those not accustomed to the lan- 
guage this will not appeal, unless I tell them that 
"Nichiyo Gakko" and " Sunday school" are the same. 
May she rest in peace. 

After her death, Mrs. E. S. Smith was sent to take 
up Miss Williamson's work; and all speak of her very 
efficient work and the good accomplished among 
women and students. During the past year Mr. 
Okamoto, the catechist, was advanced to the diaconate, 
and both he and Dr. Correll, the present Priest in charge, 
speak of the encouraging outlook in this fine town. 
The move in buying property and removing the church 
from a location where religious feeling has ever op- 
posed it, has lent new life to the work. A new church 
also, so badly needed, is looked for, and then once 
more we may expect other men like those already given 
to the Church to be raised up here in Wakayama. 






KYOTO COUNTRY STATIONS 141 

MARUSA AND HASHIMOTO 

Marusa and Hashimoto are two important fields 
of labor, worked from Wakayama. The first is in 
the mountains and can never be more than a small 
mission, but it has been a good nursery and every year 
sees many Christians join the parish rolls in the larger 
towns as a result of this work. The latter has had 
work in it for many years, and with the railroad run- 
ning near it is in time destined to grow, as all other 
towns on railway lines. With increased population 
one can look for a greater field of usefulness for the 
Church. This mission is doing excellent work amid 
many discouragements, and its Sunday school work 
alone would be a sufficient reason for the presence 
of a catechist in this place. 

This whole district Dr. Correll thinks is growing 
and the Church increasing in influence and power, 
and during the coming year it is expected to show a 
larger number of converts than has fallen to its lot 
for many years. 

NARA 

Nara, about two or three hours' ride from Osaka, 
is one of the show places in the country. Its beauti- 
ful park in which deer roam about in the tamest man- 
ner, the great Todaiji in which stands the largest 
"Daibutsu" in Japan, the many relics of ancient days 
when from 708 to 782 A. D. it was the capital of the 
Empire, all combine to make it a place of interest to 
the tourist. Indeed, the people have been so accus- 
tomed for years to expect such guests, at least during 
two seasons of the year, that the majority of them 
make their living by the sale of carved ivories and 
other curios to the traveller. 

The Church formerly conducted a Chu Gakko or 
Middle School in Nara, which did good work for many 
years and exerted a moral influence throughout the 
community. When the Anti-Religious Bill was passed 
by the Japanese Government this school, with nearly 



142 THE JAPAN MISSION 

all others throughout the Empire supported by Chris- 
tian Churches at home, was closed, because it was not 
deemed right to take consecrated Christian money to 
support an institution in which no religious teaching 
of any kind was permitted. 

The buildings at present are being used as church, 
Sunday school, parish house, club rooms, and for such 
other work as is conducted by the Church. Then 
again it was for awhile headquarters for the Brother- 
hood of St. Andrew. Good men like the present Rev. 
Charles Evans and Mr. F. E. Wood labored there in 
the capacity of Secretary of the Brotherhood, and did 
much work for the Church, creditable to themselves 
and to the society. But when they left us no one was 
sent to take their places, which was a serious loss to 
the Church, especially in Nara. 

The mission was begun by the present Bishop of 
Tokyo, when still a Priest in Osaka ; many men have 
come and gone since then, but we feel that after all 
better days are in store for Nara than it is passing 
through now. The Rev. Chas. Reif snider worked 
there some time and built up an excellent night school 
of more than a hundred students. Before each ses- 
sion a religious address was given by some one ap- 
pointed, and much good was accomplished. Mr. 
Reif snider was needed for other work and Dr. I. 
Correll was sent to replace him. Few foreigners in 
Japan can use the native dialect as well as he. One 
might well mistake him for a native as he drops in the 
hundred and one little dots and dashes, so meaningless, 
but yet so necessary for the perfection of Japanese 
speech. 

Other missions under the care of the Priest in charge 
of Nara are Tawaramoto and Sakurai. The latter is 
badly in need of new buildings; no effective work can 
ever be accomplished under present conditions. Taw- 
aramoto seems to be taking on new life and much is 
looked for in the future. 

Matsuyama, Haibara, San-ban-matsu, and Kami- 



KYOTO COUNTRY STATIONS 143 

ichi, all in Yamato province, are increasing in interest, 
and the future looks bright. Classes are well attended 
and services regular. 

MAIZURU 

Maizuru is a very old town of about 10,000 popula- 3i a i zum 
tion, the centre of commerce for that district; port of 
call for the great shipping trade of the " Nippon Yusen 
Kwaisha" between Tsuruga and the north; head- 
quarters of the steamship line from Miyazu. At 
present it is a town of much importance, and it is likely 
to become much more so in the future. The govern- 
ment has already begun preparations for naval and 
commercial canals, and docks for its navy, which as 
soon as completed will make it the port of a big line 
of shipping to Vladivostoc. After Osaka it is destined 
to become the leading port and city in the Empire. 
Hence, when the Bishop of Kyoto made this head- 
quarters for the foreign Priest, he showed great judg- 
ment and foresight in the selection. The people seem 
to be more comfortable and prosperous than is usual 
in the cities of this size, owning their own houses and 
farms and otherwise showing a desire to advance them- 
selves. 

The Church has had an up-hill fight here for years; 
Shinto seems to be still very strong and in this district 
one still finds many relics of that old and very base 
phallic worship. Rev. Mr. Gring feels that the younger 
generation is of a different type, and this for two 
reasons: first, the great progress made in education (it 
is said Maizuru has the finest schools in the Kyoto dis- 
trict); and secondly, the influence of Christianity dur- 
ing the past ten years. 

A catechist is in residence and doing well, but there 
is no Church building and so no real home for those 
who become Christians ; and as long as this condition ex- 
ists so long will the work suffer. The intention is to 
make this a real centre by building a good parish church 
which may also serve for Shin Maizuru, the neighbor- 



Maizuru 



144 THE JAPAN MISSION 

ing town. In this way success would be assured. At 
present very little can be done among the naval men or 
merchant sailors for the same reason. It is proposed, 
however, to start a men's club of such a nature that 
these may be reached ; it would indeed be a power for 
good in this whole district. 

Shin Maizuru is one of the great stations for the 
Japanese naval squadron. It is very cosmopolitan in 
character because of the changes constantly occurring 
in the naval force, and the variety of business nec- 
essary in such places. For some years a catechist was 
stationed here, who did much good work amid great 
difficulties; but other places with fewer obstacles and 
better prospects grew up so fast that the man had to 
be moved to what had become more important work. 
It is the old story of "supply and demand." The 
Church cannot gather and train men fast enough to 
meet the demands made upon Her. There are still 
some Christians there who attend services at Maizuru, 
and Mr. Gring ministers to them as he can. Yet here 
is a great opportunity for work among this educated 
class of naval gentlemen; by no means easy, and re- 
quiring a man of special training and disposition, 
whether foreign or native, elastic enough in his sym- 
pathies to meet the many difficult problems almost sure 
to be presented, and with ability to solve them. To 
do this, however, a much better plant must be estab- 
lished. It ought not to be either impossible or even 
difficult to get such a man, and one who could bring 
learning, courage, patience, and plenty of Yankee grit 
would have a life's work enviable in its results and 
pleasant in its associations. 

MIYAZU 

Now return to Maizuru and cross the beautiful 
Miyazu Bay on one of the little joki-sen* and arrive 
after a two hour, never-to-be-forgotten trip at Miyazu 
one of the "San-hei" or "the three beautiful sights of 

*J6ki sen. Steam boat. 



KYOTO COUNTRY STATIONS 145 

Japan." Here : 'Ama no hashi date" or the "Heavenly 
built bridge/ ' an old relic of nature worship, still has Ml y azu 
the power of bringing many visitors both foreign and 
native. The town lies at the head of the bay, and once 
possessed a fine castle; it is famous not only for its 
beauty but for its immorality. 

Here Mr. Gring spends his summers, and by patient 
care tries to lead his people onward. The Church is 
strong here and, strange to relate, holds the field alone. 
It is really a unique position ; for from this and Maizuru, 
She commands the whole coast, which Mr. Gring feels 
will be won eventually for the Church. 

For years this work was hampered by lack of funds 
to build a church. This has happily now been over- 
come and the congregation are rejoicing over the pur- 
chase of a fine building site, a house fitted for Church 
services, and a parish house complete, in which the 
work of the parish can be accommodated. There is 
certainly a fine future for the Church here. 

Much is also being done among the students of the 
Middle School; classes for pupils, teachers, and others 
have been formed, and a good start made among the 
right sort of people, many of whom are eager and 
anxious to know more of the mysteries of the Christian 
faith. 

KAYA VALLEY 

About ten miles from Miyazu, the centre of the great 
silk industry and a promising centre of Church work, 
is a large district known as the Kay a Valley. Unlike 
most places in Japan, the people here seldom change 
their residence; which no doubt accounts for their 
prosperity. A beautiful little church seating about 
fifty or sixty persons was built a few years ago, with 
parish house, Catechist's residence, and rooms for the 
Priest attached. 

The parish house seats 200 persons and is quite equal 
to the demands of the work. The Church is really 
discharging Her duty and occupies a peculiar place 



146 THE JAPAN MISSION 

in the minds of the people; She is theirs, and as the 
Kaya Cross looks down upon the valley, it seems to shed a 

Valley special influence and power all around. Truly a won- 

derful people are they in this little fertile spot. One 
has to go in and out among them, learn their ways, and 
know their hearts, before one can understand their needs. 
It must not be supposed that work here has been 
always easy. The people, notwithstanding their 
gentleness and kindliness of heart, are very conserva- 
tive, and the process of approach is neccessarily slow 
and cautious. The time is rapidly approaching when 
a native Priest must be found who can give his whole 
time to this church and congregation. Native Clergy 
have not worked in this place in years past because 
of the difficulties of evangelization; but with a resi- 
dent native Priest this whole valley will grow as the 
Garden of the Lord. 

There are also one or two other towns near by into 
which we ought soon to enter, but they must wait 
until more men are trained. One thing is certain, 
the Church has no brighter prospects than those on 
that part of the West Coast. 

OBAMA 

Obama is one of the large towns of the Tango pro- 
vince, and was for some years under the priestly over- 
sight of the Rev. Mr. Gring of Maizuru. The work 
was begun by the present Bishop of Tokyo in the early 
days when he was Priest in Osaka. The Church had 
a fine start, and for years prospered greatly. 

The history of this mission is interesting. More 
than fifteen years ago, it is said, a Bible was sold in 
Obama and came into the possession of a few people 
who became deeply interested in this remarkable 
book. Some inkling of this reached Osaka and Mr., 
now Bishop, McKim went out to investigate, and 
found several people who wished to receive Baptism. 
It eventually became a thriving mission, and at one 
time numbered nearly one hundred Christians. Bishop 



KYOTO COUNTRY STATIONS 147 

Williams gave some money towards a church and a 
native pastor was installed, the Rev. K. Tagawa, 
now of the Tokyo cathedral. 

It increased steadily for six or seven years; after 
which, in the steady wave of emigration from that 
town and province, the Church suddenly dropped 
down to a few persons only, and the catechist was 
moved to another field. Perhaps to account for this 
great exit in the population one has to consider the 
immense advantages other cities were offering at that 
time above this one. It was not progressive in any 
sense of the word and not until very recently were 
the means of inlet and exit better than a springless 
bassha* — by no means a desirable method of loco- 
motion. At present, however, the Hankaku Rail- 
way Co. has put on a fast line of boats from the end 
of their line to Obama, and much is looked for in the 
future. 

As an evidence of its growing prosperity and impor- 
tance it is assuming new proportions, and one may 
necessarily expect the reversion to old days as new 
Christians move in along with other people. Work 
is still being done there, and though slow is sure to 
bear much fruit in the future. The Church is alone 
here. The missionary feels much encouraged over 
the present prospects. 

TSURUGA 

Tsuruga, on a bay of the same name, is a town of 
fisher folk for the most part, as is so common in Japan. 
It has also a garrison of 5,000 men, which in no way 
helps the morality of the town. 

The Church has been established there for nineteen 
years, the first few of which were stormy in the ex- 
treme. "Only Divine guidance and the assurance 
of ultimate success could have saved the Church to 
Tsuruga," said one in telling of early beginnings; but 

* Bassha. A sort of 'bus . 



Obama 



148 THE JAPAN MISSION 

# he added with a smile of confidence and relief "It is 
uruga all over now; we have turned the corner." 

For a few years not even a preaching place could 
be procured, so the catechist finally rented a house 
for himself, and in a private way talked Christianity. 
After a year spent in this way the house was thrown 
open as a public preaching place, and for five or six 
years all went well. The increase and progress had 
aroused opposition during those years, and now the 
owner, under pressure from the Buddhists, refused 
to rent his house any longer, and the few Christians 
who had been gathered during those years were left 
without a place of worship. It was a cruel blow, but 
it said much for the material of those faithful Chris- 
tian souls that they accepted the test, gave proper 
proof of their faithfulness, and stood firm. During 
that year one of them gave a ware-house, with the land 
on which it stood, for a church, and at once preparations 
were begun to make it into a proper place for worship. 

But trouble had apparently only begun. On the 
day of the dedication five hundred Buddhists assem- 
bled prepared for mischief; and with sticks and stones 
drove out the Christians, broke the windows, destroyed 
the furniture, and the place was only saved from de- 
struction by the timely arrival of the police. Many 
were badly hurt. 

The place was repaired and used until 1905, when 
it caught fire and was burnt to the ground, the holy 
vessels alone being saved from the wreck. Once more 
the little flock was left homeless. It was a terrible trial 
in the life of those who had already gone through 
much for their faith. An old man, with only three 
rooms, offered them at once for services. These rooms 
were the upstairs of a repair shop for broken images, 
and unless sentiment had greatly changed, it can be 
readily seen how impossible it would be to hold any- 
thing in the nature of a Christian service in such a 
place. 

The needs of the mission were soon made known 



KYOTO COUNTRY STATIONS 149 

to the Church at home, and generous aid at once came 
to the rescue of those good people. A new building lsuru sa 
was completed and consecrated in December, 1905, 
costing $1,500. A fairly representative assembly was 
present at this service: his Honor the Mayor of the 
city, the Chief of police, and some Buddhist priests, 
who even donated trees and shrubs for the ground 
around the building. 

Certainly things have changed in Tsuruga during 
these few years, and Mr. Reifsnider feels that the real 
opposition is over,and that there is much encouragement 
felt over the turn of the current, and also much hope 
for the future. Since the consecration, more than 
thirty catechumens have received instruction for 
Baptism and Confirmation. Work has also been be- 
gun among the soldiers at the garrison, with the know- 
ledge and consent of the Commander, a warm personal 
friend of Mr. Reifsnider's, and in various ways the 
old-time feeling is passing away, and by God's mercy 
a new era opening for the Church on that coast. 

fukui 

Fukui, a large town of 50,000, is the capital of the 
province of Echizen, and, except for Kanazawa, the 
largest on the West coast. Few towns have a history 
to stir the hearts of a warrior people deeper than this. 
They still love to linger over the stories of the days of 
Shibata and Hideyoshi, of the battles fought and vic- 
tories won. 

Mr. Grims in his "Mikado's Empire" has much to say 
of Fukui, where for some years he resided and taught 
in the school, and the reader who cares for further 
knowledge may turn to his book and investigate for 
himself. It is still the great centre of the Buddhist 
religion on the West coast, which is of the most militant 
disposition, and has never ceased its hostility to Chris- 
tianity. 

For many years the Church gained no foothold what- 
ever, no property could be bought and no definite 



Fukui 



150 THE JAPAN MISSION 

work undertaken. It needed much courage openly 
to profess a religion which had no place in the hearts 
and minds of the community, and no home in the town. 
To be sure there was a mission, but could it abide? 
Was the Church there to stay? were questions asked 
time and time again and amid the opposition only a 
man bold in faith and courage would reply definitely, 
"Yes." 

The Nishi Hongwanji sect of Buddhism is very strong 
there and most bitter in opposition. Boys were either 
prevented from attending, or threatened with severe 
punishment if they attended, Church services. The 
feeling is changing and the opposition, so bitter and 
unreasonable, is abating; but one must wait some time 
yet ere it entirely disappears. Last year four candi- 
dates for Baptism waited some months before deciding 
on taking the final step which only would make them 
Christians. 

The Rev. Charles Reifsnider, who is in charge, is a 
man of great courage and perseverance, mingled with 
good, calm common sense, and the work is making 
some headway. He has placed the Church right in 
the eyes of the people, and if it can be said that any 
kindly feeling can be felt there for Christianity, it 
certainly is on the increase. The work is being done 
on sound Church principles, and no doubt will advance 
rapidly when a plant has been established there. At 
present there is no church, only a small rented place 
where services can be held, as is so often the case. The 
pity of it! 

During the late war difficult questions came up for 
discussion. Russia was a Christian nation, at least in 
name; what side then would Christianity take? The 
interest taken by the Priest and people in the welfare 
of the soldiers at the front, no less than for the wounded 
at home, and the Church's donation of Yen 60* for the 
sufferers, showed that whatever may be the mind of the 
Church concerning war in general, there was no doubt 

*Yen 60. About $30.00 gold. 



KYOTO COUNTRY STATIONS 151 

about the attitude of the Christians toward this one in 
particular, and much good resulted. Fukui 

A fine English night school has been in operation for 
some time, in which Mr. Reifsnider has the assistance 
of his catechist and three other teachers. Through 
this school he has been able to reach many of the 
younger people and get into homes otherwise impos- 
ible for him to enter. Some few out of this school 
have already been baptized, and much is hoped from 
it in the future. 

KANAZAWA 

Kanazawa is probably the third largest town in the 
Kyoto jurisdiction, and noted alike for its commercial 
and religious progress. The Rev. Isaac Dooman was 
in charge of this mission many years and is still kindly 
remembered by many in Kanazawa today. 

The Rev. J. J. Chapman was sent there in 1900, and 
a more successful term of service has seldom been 
rendered. Kanazawa is a large student centre, and to 
assist Mr. Chapman in opening up work among young 
people Rev. J. A. Welbourn was sent for nearly a year. 
Classes were formed and a night school opened for 
those who desired to prepare themselves in special 
departments; and since it was decidedly a religious 
institution, the Church was greatly blessed in the num- 
ber of converts. 

Mr. Chapman married in about a year, and Mr. Wel- 
bourn returned to take up new work in Tokyo 

Miss Suthon also began an industrial school among 
the women which has never ceased to do real religious 
work. Indeed, the importance of such an institution 
has become so manifest, and the returns in souls so 
great, beside the fact that it affords employment to 
many who would otherwise be destitute, that the 
Church has seen the wisdom of making a small grant of 
money for the better equipment of the school. 

Obashi San, the deacon, who during the absence of 
Mr. Chapman on vacation in 1907 did all the work 



152 THE JAPAN MISSION 

single handed, has been in Kanazawa many years, and 
anazawa ^ g i 00 k e( j U p n as part of the place. Kyoto Diocese 
has had no greater returns anywhere than those made 
by this mission, and the Bishop speaks of it in glowing 
terms. 




MISSION WOMEN IN TRAINING SCHOOL 



CHAPTER XI 
The Outlook 

We have endeavored in the preceding pages to give 
some idea of the work in two jurisdictions, in as con- 
densed a form as possible, and we hope it may be useful 
to those prosecuting mission studies in the Church at 
home. We have kept as far as possible from vexatious 
statistics, which very often puzzle the reader while 
shedding no great light upon the history. 

That the outlook for the Sei Ko Kwai is brighter than 
ever in the past, there is not the shadow of a doubt. 
The position which the members of Her fold have 
made for themselves in the public mind; the strength 
of religious character which dominates the faithful 
everywhere; the confidence and trust placed in Her 
children during the past few years; speak volumes for 
the wealth of the inheritance which is to fall to them 
in the future. 

It is true that the Church at home has not sent as 
many of Her sons and daughters to this field as many 
of the protestant bodies; but among those raised up 
from among the natives by any denomination what- 
ever, many and good though they be, both in quality 
and quantity, the Church's children take no second 
place. There are those among them who we could 
wish stood for stronger, and to our mind better, Church 
principles ; but they are true to their principles as they 
understand them. And let it be said here that those 
who would wish to make the Church in Japan simply 
a protestant denomination, are not the Japanese. The 
Church has the deepest and most profound respect for 



154 THE JAPAN MISSION 

those who conscientiously differ from Her in matters of 
faith, but Her's is not the love which embraces to-day 
and abuses to-morrow. 

What a blessed thing it is that this Church is not 
under human control entirely; that He who said "The 
gates of Hell shall not prevail against Her," sent the 
Holy Spirit to guide Her into all truth. The foreign 
staff, no less than the native clergy, go steadily on 
with their work of saving souls. 

Bishop McKim says, "I have consecrated twenty 
churches since I became Bishop," and Bishop Par- 
tridge's work never looked more promising than at 
present. 

Twenty years ago there were two native workers, 
and two in training. To-day there is a staff of about 
thirty native Clergy alone, with twice as many cate- 
chists and women assistants; a fine theological school 
for Clergy, and schools for catechists and women helpers. 
Moreover, the native Church hopes to have an endow- 
ment of Yen 30,000 for a Bishop of Her own within 
the next two years. 

There has also come within the last few years a 
feeling that the great work of the Church must be 
among the youth of Japan — a most encouraging sign 
— and with this in view every effort is bent towards 
Sunday schools. Religious literature is improving, 
and is much more widely used for the teaching and 
instruction of the children. Sunday school cards 
printed with well known Japanese figures embossed 
with scripture passages are circulated freely; the re- 
sult is that something of Christian truth and teach- 
ing is daily finding its way into homes never before 
entered, and indirectly influences the minds of the 
readers. 

Orphanages and kindergartens have increased and 
enlarged their capacity, and yearly there pass out from 
under the care of clean, moral, religious, God fearing 
teachers, children of both sexes who have been taught 
to live pure Christian lives. 



THE OUTLOOK 155 

The little leaven leavens the whole lump. One 
goes over the length and breadth of the Empire, and 
meets with Christians everywhere: men and women 
who are exerting a quiet influence on the lives of the 
little community in which they live. They are the 
seed of the Church; the missionary finds them there 
and ministers to their spiritual needs, and through 
their assistance is able to bring some knowledge of 
Christ to others. 

So the work goes on from year to year advancing, 
" first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn 
in the ear." 

If the work as here presented be not sufficient proof 
of the presence of the Holy Spirit in this Church and, 
under His guidance, of grace to propagate those blessed 
truths which the Church has ever held and taught; 
if we have failed to demonstrate to the thoughtful 
person the wonderful progress made here in thirty 
years; if we have left no impression that the work 
of the past may and will be duplicated in the future a 
thousand fold to the honor and glory of God; then 
the fault lies only with us and our feeble presentation 
of the case. If, however, we have aided one more 
soul in his faith and love to God to recognize somewhat 
more of his duty to his fellow man, and to aid him 
in his search for truth as seen in Jesus Christ, then 
our work has been blessed indeed. 



APPENDIX 
The Pronunciation of Japanese Names 

[Written by the Rev. A. W. Cooke, of the Diocese of T6ky6] 

Much difficulty is experienced by those who have 
no knowledge of the Japanese language, in the pro- 
nunciation of the names of persons and places, which 
occur in any account of Japan and things Japanese. 
In order that the account given in this short history 
of the Church's Mission to Japan may be more intel- 
ligently read by those under whose notice it may 
come, and with the hope that more accurate know- 
ledge of the Mission work may be the result, a brief 
explanation of the pronunciation of Japanese is here 
attempted, inadequate though it be to the perfect 
understanding of this difficult subject. 

With but two exceptions, every syllable in a Japa- 
nese word must end with a vowel. In other words, 
there are as many syllables in a Japanese word as the 
number of vowels it contains, no more, no less. How- 
ever confusing and irreducible a long Japanese word 
transliterated into Roman letters may at first sight 
appear, its pronunciation can be accurately deter- 
mined by dividing into syllables, each of which ends 
with a vowel. If there be any odd vowels, they con- 
stitute separate syllables, and if there be any odd 
consonants, their assignment to the proper syllable 
is decided by the exceptions to the rule above mentioned. 

There are five vowels, all of them naturally short, 
and pronounced as follows : 
a like the a in father (ah) 



158 PRONUNCIATION OF NAMES 

i like the i in machine (e) 
u like the u in rude (66) 
e like the e in prey (a) 
o like the o in hope (6) 

The two cases in which a syllable may end in a con- 
conant are when elision of a vowel doubles the follow- 
ing consonant, as in Kekko, Seppuku, etc., or when 
there is a final n or (as it is sometimes pronounced) 
m; e. g. Sendai, Nihonmatsu. 

The combinations sh, ch, and ts, though apparently 
compound, are not pronounced as two separate con- 
sonants, but as a single sound, and are written in the 
sounds shi, chi and tsu, to suggest more accurately 
the Japanese pronunciation of the syllables which 
theoretically should be transliterated si, ti, and tu. 

There is no sound in the Japanese language which 
is not made up of these five vowels or a combination 
of them with one or more consonants. Accuracy 
of pronunciation, however, demands careful distinc- 
tion between long and short vowels. There is no 
difference of character between them, as in English 
(e. g. pin, pine) ; but a long vowel differs from a short 
one as a long note in music differs from a short one. 
We have endeavored to indicate these long vowels in 
the text, but their proper pronunciation is for a 
foreigner perhaps the most difficult part of the spoken 
language of Japan. They arise from combinations of 
two vowel sounds into one, as au into 6, or ei into e. 

There are occasional examples of the converse 
elision of a short vowel (which makes it practically 
silent, though it is written in the Japanese representa- 
tion of the sound), when it is followed by a long vowel, 
or for other phonetic reasons. This is commonly 
confined to the vowels i and u. An example of these 
two vowel changes occurs in Tokyo which is a com- 
bination of six syllables into two, viz.: To-o-ki-ya-u. 

The temptation is often great to read a Japanese 
name as if it were English, and pronounce it accord- 
ingly; but it must always be first cut up into syllables, 



PRONUNCIATION OF NAMES 159 

as has been explained, one vowel to each syllable; 
and then if each syllable is pronounced by itself, with- 
out accent, and giving to each vowel its fixed pronun- 
ciation, the correct pronunciation of the word will 
result as a matter of course. The length or apparent 
difficulty of the word must not discourage the tyro. 
It is simply a chain, more or less long, each link of 
which is a syllable. 
Examples : 
O-sa-ka Sen-da-i 

Nik-ko Wa-ka-ma-tsu 

Mi-ya-zu A-ma-no-ha-shi-da-to 

Da-i-myo Chu-gak-ko 




MAP OF JAPAN 



INDEX 

PAGE 

Agnosticism 26 

Akita 108 

Aldrich, Miss 63, 121 

All Saints', Kudan 60 

Ambler, Rev. J 63, 72, 80, 103 

Amusements 14, 17 

Andrews, Rev. R. W 87,89, 140 

Aomori 105 

Araki, Miss 53 

Art 24 

Asakusa 58 

Atheism 26 

Awdry, Bishop 42 

Babcock, Miss 101, 102, 103, 106 

Ban, Rev. K 84, 87 

Bancho, Young Ladies' Institute 77 

Bickersteth, Bishop 37 

Blanchet, Rev 35, 36, 47, 113 

Boone, Bishop 32 

Boyd, Miss L 61 

Bristowe, Miss 97, 98, 103 

Brotherhood of St. Andrew 65, 107, 142 

Buddhism 4, 22-26 

Bull, Miss Leila 122, 128, 132 

Capital Cities 31 

Cartwright, Rev. S. H 107 

Chapman, Rev. J. J 151 

Chappell, Rev. J 72, 80, 91, 94, 95, 103, 106 

Children 9 

Chinese, School for 50 

Christ Church, Kanda 62 

Christ Church, Osaka 128 

Christianity, Influence of 15 

Church Missionary Society 6, 33 

Church Students' Missionary Association 67 

Civil War 31 



INDEX 

PAGE 

Cole, Rev. J. T 60, 63, 72 

Congregational Work 81 

Cooke, Rev. A. W 99, 100, 102 

Cooper, Rev 35, 36, 47, 58 

Corea : 12,23 

Correll, Rev 128, 134, 135, 140, 141, 142 

Cruelty 9 

Customs, Japanese 12, 13 

Cuthbert, Rev 125 

Daito, Rev. P 59 

Divinity School. See Trinity Divinity School. 
Divorce. See Marriage. 

Dooman, Rev. 1 72, 80, 151 

Eddy, Miss 36 

Education, Christian 36, 37 

Education, Japanese 10, 11, 12 

Education, of Women 10, 13, 14, 15 

Emperor 30, 31 

English Language 10, 11 

Evans, Rev. C. H 80,82,83, 142 

Farm Lands 12 

Festivals 17 

Feudalism 16 

Foreigners, Treatment of 10 

Fukui 149 

Fukushima 103 

Funerals, Shinto 29 

Gardiner, Rev. J. McD 47, 48, 64 

Gardiner, Mrs 36, 113 

Gaylor Hart Memorial Kindergarten 109 

Geisha 14 

Grace Church, Kojimachi 63 

Graves, Bishop 115 

Greek Church 95 

Gring, Rev. A 120, 143, 145, 146 

Growth of the Church 6 

Gueppe, Miss. See Pierson, Mrs. 

Gymnasiums, Japanese 11 

Hachinohe 107 

Haibara 142 



NDEX 

PAGE 

Hakone 24 

Hakuaisha 128, 133 

Harris, Consul General ! 33 

Hashimoto 141 

Hayakawa, Rev 106, 131, 132, 140 

Hayashi, Miss 134 

Heywood, Miss 72 

Hirosaki Ill 

Holidays 17 

Holy Comforter, Nihonbashi Ku 68 

Holy Trinity Orphanage and School for Feeble Minded.... 74 

Home life 14 

Hongo 65 

Hospitality 13 

Hospitals. See St. Luke's, St. Barnabas', and St. Peter's. 

Irumagawa 73 

Ishii, Rev 74 

Ishii, Mrs %^63, 77 

Japanese. See Language. 

Japanese Church 37, 38 

Japanese Bishop 2 

Jeffreys, Rev. H. S 69, 80, 87, 96, 103, 105 

Jesuits 31,32,94 

Kamichi 142 

Kanazawa 151 

Kanda 62 

Kawagoe 71 

Kawakami, Mr 53 

Kaya Valley 145 

Kimura, Miss 122 

Kindergarten 109 

Kindness 9 

Kitazawa, S. J 80, 91 

Kobashi,Mr 134 

Kobayashi, Rev 106, 113 

Kojimachi 63 

Korea. See Corea. 

Koriyama 101 

Kudan 60 

Kumagaya 83 



INDEX 

PAGE 

Kuwano 72 

Kyoto, City 114 

Kyoto, Diocese formed 39, 115 

Language, Japanese 8, 9, 142 

Laning, Dr 35, 123, 128, 135, 136 

Laning, Miss 135 

Libraries, Japanese 11 

Liggins, Rev. John 31, 32 

Living, Cost of 12 

Lloyd, Rev. A 48, 60, 63, 79, 103 

MacRay, Miss 97, 103 

Madely, Rev. W. F 96, 101, 108, 111 

Madely, Mrs. W. F 108 

Maebashi 80 

Maizuru 143 

Mann, Miss 106, 111 

Marriage, etc 13, 14, 15 

Married Missionaries 5 

Marusa 141 

Matsushima, Rev. T 64 

Matsuyama 73, 142 

McKim, Bishop 38, 115, 142, 146 

Mead, Miss 109 

Middle Schools 11 

Miharu 101 

Miller, Rev. G. D. B 34 

Minagawa, Rev. A 62 

Minamiotsuka 73 

Mito 88 

Miyazu 144 

Modern Conveniences 10 

Morris, Rev. A. R .33, 34, 127, 128, 137 

Motoda, Rev. J. S 63 

Myogi 82 

Naide, Rev 129 

Nara 141 

Need of Workers 4, 5 

Neely, Miss Clara 80 

Newman, Rev 47 

Nihonbashi Ku 68 



INDEX 

PAGE 

Nijirna, Dr 81 

Nikko 85 

Nippon Sei Ko Kwai 1, 38, 128 

Obama 146 

Obedience 16 

Ochiai, Rev. J. K 96, 103 

Odate 112 

Okamoto, Rev 140 

Onnabake 95 

Ono, Rev 72,111 

Opening of Japan 30 

Osaka 127 

Ota 95 

Page, Rev. H 60, 71, 139 

Parish Paper 81 

Partridge, Bishop 39, 115, 135 

Patriotism 11, 16 

Patton, Rev. J. L 80 

Peck, Miss Sally 121 

Peculiarities of Japan 8 

Perry, Commodore 30, 88 

Perry, Miss 72 

Persecution 34 

Philanthropy, Japanese 11 

Pierson,Mrs 72, 103 

Pittman, Miss. See Gardiner, Mrs. 

Police 10,81 

Portsmouth Conference 11, 59 

Post Offices 10 

Prices 12 

Progress of Japan 11, 12 

Protestant, other Bodies 33 

Punishments 16 

Quimby, Rev 35, 137 

Ranson, Miss 72 

Red Cross Society Ill 

Reifsnider, Rev. C 142, 149, 150 

Religions of Japan 22-29 

Ritual 4 

Rokusaburo, Totsuku 71 



INDEX 

±»AGE 

Roman Catholicism 32, 33 

Russian War 12, 62, 97, 131, 138, 150 

See also Portsmouth Conference. 

Sakai, Rev. B. T 66,68 

Sakurai 142 

Samurai 16 

San-ban-matsu 142 

San, Kashiuchi 138 

San, Kujiraoka 101 

San, Kuwada 83 

San, Rev. Obashi 151 

Schereschewsky, Bishop 35, 115 

Schmid, Dr 33 

Schools. See Education. 

Sei Ko Kwai. See Nippon Sei KoKwai. 

Seita, Rev. K 59 

Sendai 95 

Shinko Kyokwai 57 

Shinto 26-29,38 

Smart, Rev. W. H 79, 103 

Smith, Mrs. E. S 121, 140 

Smith, S. P 64 

Social Life 12,15 

Sone, Rev 118 

Spirit of Japanese 11 

St. Agnes' School, Kyoto 36, 119 

St. Barnabas' Hospital, Osaka 35, 136 

St. John's, Asakusa 58 

St. John's, Kyoto 118 

St. John's, Osaka 129 

St. John's Orphanage, Osaka 128, 131 

St. Luke's, Matsuyama 73 

St. Luke's Hospital, Tokyo 51 

St. Margaret's School 36,42, 113 

St. Mary's, Kyoto 124 

St. Mary's Training School for Women, Kyoto 122 

St. Matthias', Maebashi 80 

St. Matthias' Catechetical School 46 

St. Paul's, Osaka 132 

St. Paul's College 36, 42, 46 



INDEX 

PAGE 

St. Peter's, Mito 90 

St. Peter's Dispensary, Kyoto 122 

St. Stephen's, Mito 90 

St. Timothy's, Hongo 65 

St. Timothy's School (Osaka) 47 

Street, Dr. L. A. B 123 

Sugamo 74 

Sugiura, Rev 57 

Suicide 16 

Suthon, Miss 63, 105, 151 

Suto, Rev. K 106, 108 

Sweet, Alfred 69 

Sweet, Rev. C. F 69 

Tagawa, Rev. 1 43, 147 

Tai, Rev. S 71, 73, 96 

Taira 93 

Takasaki 82 

Tamamura, Mr 83, 119 

Tawaramoto 142 

Taxes 12 

Telegraph Facilities 10 

Teusler, Dr. R. B 52,54 

Tokyo, City 3 

Torii 82,84 

Transfiguration, Nikko 86 

Trinity Cathedral, Kyoto 117 

Trinity Cathedral, Tokyo 3, 42, 43 

Trinity Divinity School 5, 44 

"True Light" Church 57 

Tsuchiura 91 

Tsuda, Miss H 63 

Tsuruga 147 

Tucker, Rev. H. St. G 49, 50, 51, 60, 107 

Urawa 79 

Utsunomiya 84 

Vice 15 

Wakamatsu 99 

Wakayama 139 

Wall, Miss 82,106 

Waller, Rev 103 



INDEX 

PAGE 
War. See Russian War. 

War of Restoration 99 

Watanabe, Miss F. See Ishii, Mrs. 

Waung, Mr 51 

Welbourn 61,65, 151 

Widely Loving Society 128, 133 

Williams, Bishop C. M 31, 32, 33, 37, 38, 42, 57, 59, 115, 

119, 135, 147 

Williamson, Miss 140 

Women, Social Position 13, 14 

See also Education. 

Wood, F. E 142 

Woodman, Rev. E. R 60,87 

Xavier , Francis 32 

Yamagata, Rev 106 

Yedo 31 

Y. M. C. A 65,97 

Y. M. C. A., Chinese 51 

Yorii 82,84 



JUN 22 1908 



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